InQuire
The University of Kent’s Student Newspaper Issue 14.2 Friday 28 September 2018 inquirelive.co.uk FREE
‘Sex for rent’ offered by landlords in Canterbury Jordan Ifield Website News Editor
A
n investigation by CCCU’s student publication has uncovered that up to eighteen Canterbury landlords have offered ‘sex for rent’ schemes to students. Claisse Opulencia, Editorin-Chief of Unified, posted an advertisement on Craigslist under the alias of ‘Isabelle’, claiming she was in a need of a room but was struggling financially. Most landlords initially offered ‘Isabelle’ accommodation with payment, only to suggest ‘sex for rent’ arrangements when ‘Isabelle’ claimed she did not have sufficient funds for their initial offer. This exposé comes at a time when new, and potentially vulnerable students are arriving in Canterbury for Welcome week. Opulencia, told Kent Online: “As soon as I posted the ad’ on Craigslist, two hours after, my phone was filled with landlords asking if I was still looking for a room, saying, ‘Here’s what I’ve got’”. After initial contact with landlords by ‘Isabelle’, further contact was made by Opulencia, as a writer for Unified. The outlet only received one reply, with the landlord claiming that ‘It’s a win-win situation. I’ll help the person out and she can help me out’. Such cases have not been
isolated to Canterbury. A poll conducted by YouGov and Shelter earlier this year found that around 250,000 women in the UK had been offered a ‘sex for rent’ arrangement by their landlord in the past five years. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the maximum sentence one could receive for such an office would be 7 years in prison. The former Justice Secretary, David Lidington, claimed that such arrangements were already illegal under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, arguing that ‘as they are inciting or causing another person to have sex with them in return for payment’. DCI Lee Whitehead from Kent Police said: ‘Landlords who advertise rooms in exchange for sexual favours are actively targeting vulnerable people, and I would urge anyone who is being exploited in this way to please report it to us. ‘Any incidents reported to Kent Police will be fully investigated to establish if any crimes have been committed, and officers will work with the Crown Prosecution Service to charge offenders and bring them before the courts.’ There is no exact law punishing the crime of ‘sex for rent’, with Lidington’s definition falling under the accusation of prostitution. There have been no prosecutions for landlords either advertising or offering ‘sex for rent’ in the UK.
Photo by Pixoto
It is not just landlords, students are selling old lingerie and nudes for cash
D
ata from a recent survey conducted by financial advice website Save the Student found that out of 3,000 male and female student participants, one in 20 use their
IS IT ACHIEVEABLE? PAGE 16
bodies to make money, with 78 per cent struggling to get by with paying for their education. The type of sexual favours ranged from prostitution and escorting to stripping,
as well as internet work. Some students are even resorting to selling worn bras and panties to make ends meet whilst at university.
PARKWOOD STUDENT HUB +WOODYS RETURN PAGE 5
2
News
Lord Adonis joins Chancellor Esler for In Conversation
2018/2019
Print and online editorial contacts:
Editor-in-Chief Molly Hope
editor @inquiremedia.co.uk
Newspaper Editor Jesse Bedayn
newspaper.editor @inquiremedia.co.uk
Photo by University of Kent
Website Editor
By Alex Johnson Writer
Daria Istayeva website.editor @inquiremedia.co.uk
News
Bill Bowkett
Newspaper News Editor
newspaper.news@inquiremedia.co.uk
Jordan Ifield
Website News Editor
website.news@inquiremedia.co.uk
Opinion
Maisie Koeun Lee
Newspaper Opinion Editor
newspaper.opinion@inqiremedia.co.uk
Matt Nuttall
Website Opinion Editor
website.opinion@inquiremedia.co.uk
Lifestyle
Katinka Pim
Newspaper Lifestyle Editor
T
he In Conversation series with Chancellor Gavin Esler returned on 20 September with Remainer and Labour peer Andrew Adonis at the Gulbenkian Theatre. The former Transport Secretary and chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission is an outspoken critic of the Brexit process and has recently been campaigning to derail the entire process by calling for a second referendum on the terms of the withdrawal
agreement. The event, titled ‘Brexit - can it be overturned?’, revolved around the growing need for a ‘people’s vote’, which both Adonis and Esler are strongly supportive of. Lord Adonis felt that there is a need for a people’s vote because ‘young people in particular and students are becoming quite rightly deeply alarmed at what this may mean for their careers’. Adonis has been busy visiting universities and institutions across the country, but it was this event that he concluded that if there were to be a second referendum, people under 35 would vote in large sways for remain. Canterbury MP Rose Duffield was also in attendance of the talk, reinforcing her public support for a vote on the divorce bill. Among the discussions of how a second referendum would
be initiated, Adonis said that members of the public should be a given a physical copy of the exit agreement. He said: ‘The government sent every elector a copy of the Good Friday agreement, what I think should happen is every elector should be sent a copy of Chequers.’ Arguments were put forward throughout the night against the idea of a second referendum, including how time is running out with the 29 March 2019 deadline only six months away. Adamant in denying this claim, Adonis believed that the EU would extend the Article 50 deadline to allow the democratic processes to continue. Another argument was the fear of divisions from the original vote in 2016 reappearing. Esler responded sarcastically on the topic of a people’s vote: ‘Given that we’ve all come together as a nation... but it
would somehow be divisive.’ With this, Adonis replied: ‘We’re a democracy, we have arguments in democracies.’ InQuire asked Lord Adonis ‘Given that the Bank of England reported that a no deal Brexit could see house prices fall by a third, should young people want a no deal Brexit so they can get on the housing ladder?’ Adonis replied that economic security and integrity would lead to more affordable homes being built, but that the government would need to commit to building more social housing and bring their building homes plans forward. The In Conversation series was launched in 2015, after Gavin Esler’s appointment as Chancellor of the University of Kent. Former guests of the series include crime writer Ian Rankin OBE, comedian Jo Brand, and film critic Mark Kermode.
newspaper.lifestyle@inquiremedia.co.uk
Tiree Niven
Welby rebukes gig economy as ‘an ancient evil’ M
their workers with a bareminimum wage widely believed to be insufficient to live on. The former Oil Company Executive also criticised zerohour contracts, labelling them as a “reincarnation of an ancient evil”.
Website Lifestyle Editor
website.lifestyle@inquiremedia.co.uk
Entertainment
Emmanuel Omodeinde
Newspaper Entertainment Editor
newspaper.entertainment @inquiremedia.co.uk
Matylda Makowska
Website Entertainment Editor website.entertainment @inquiremedia.co.uk
Archbishop accused of hypocrisy
Features Corben Neyland Newspaper Feature Editor
features@inquiremedia.co.uk
Culture Maryah Chughtai Newspaper Culture Editor
newspaper.culture@inquiremedia.co.uk
Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office | Flickr
Shani Thomas
Website Culture Editor website.culture@inquiremedia.co.uk
Sport
Kiro Evans
Newspaper Sport Editor
newspaper.sport@inquiremedia.co.uk
Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor
website.sport@inquiremedia.co.uk
Science and Tech
Emma Leach
Newspaper Science and Tech Editor
science@inquiremedia.co.uk
Photography Vacancy
design@inquiremedia.co.uk
Marketing
George Knight
marketing@inquiremedia.co.uk @InQuireLive Facebook.com/InQuireMedia Instagram.com/Canterbury_Media Youtube.com/InQuireLive
By Alejandro Javierre Writer
J
ustin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, criticised the Universal Credit scheme, zerohour contracts and the recent business practices of online retail giant Amazon in a speech delivered to the Trade Union Council (TUC) in Manchester earlier this month. Father Welby spoke at the annual meeting of trade unions operating in the United Kingdom. He focused his speech on criticising aggressive corporate management strategies and government policies, including the highly controversial handling of the
Universal Credit System. He questioned whether the new system provides fairer benefits to the poor. Universal Credit was first proposed in 2011 to wide support across all parties in parliament, with the aim of the scheme to streamline the complicated system of benefits for low-income workers and the unemployed into a single payment made every month. It originally aimed to mix six previously separately handled benefits, including income support, child tax benefits, and housing benefits into a single payment which was believed to drastically reduce organising costs and streamline the processes required to process
benefits claims. Following the many complaints about benefits claimants not receiving their full previous payments or having deductions to their benefits due to the rolling out of Universal Credit, many have called into question whether the scheme has a positive or negative impact on the most vulnerable individuals of Society. The bulk of Welby’s speech was directed at large multinational companies. He discussed Amazon and their treatment of workers and lowered taxes. Recently, Amazon gained controversy for reporting an exponential rise in profits but claimed a lower tax bill report, as well as providing most of
any former Church of England workers were quick to point out that the Church of England has been known to employ people under zero-hour contracts. This week, it emerged that Gloucester Cathedral posted an advertisement for a zero-hour contract position as a porter on their official site days after the conference. Similar reports surfaced around Amazon, and it was found that the Church of England invests in the tech giant. The religious organisation also reported a portfolio of over £5 billion acquired tax-free due to the Church’s classification as a charity organisation. Welby closed his speech by wishing for a future government that can run Church-managed foodbanks, empty night shelters, and ‘where money is no longer a tyrant, and justice is seen’.
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
3
Motion to censor Rosie Duffield MP ‘unfair’, claims Labour candidate
News
By Bill Bowkett Newspaper News Editor
A
Labour candidate has called her party’s treatment of Rosie Duffield MP ‘unfair’, after her constituency party sought to censure her for speaking out against Labour’s ongoing antiSemitism scandal. Charlotte Cornell, Rosie Duffield’s Head of Office and Labour’s prospective candidate for Dover, told InQuire that the motion set out to censor Rosie Duffield over her attendance of a demonstration against antiSemitism ‘unreflective of the women I know very well’. The Canterbury MP was criticised in a recent letter sent out to members of the Canterbury Labour Party (CLP) for attending a demonstration outside Westminster against anti-Semitism in March, as well as speaking at the Jewish Labour Movement conference in September. The signatories of the letter accused the Labour MP of involving herself with ‘groups and organisations that are campaigning to damage’ the Labour Party. The letter reads: ‘We have
observed the words and conduct of our Labour MP, Rosie Duffield, and we are dissatisfied at her decision to involve herself with groups and organisations that are campaigning to damage our Party, as well as impede its efforts to ensure the right to criticise crimes committed by the state of Israel. ‘We are particularly concerned that Rosie chose to show her support for these parties at a demonstration organised to groundlessly accuse the Party of systematic antisemitism. ‘She compounded this conduct by carelessly appearing to threaten the leader at a meeting of an organisation which, though affiliated with the Labour Party, does not at all times share its priorities.’ Cornell, who previously ran as a Labour councillor on two occasions but failed to win a seat, disagrees with the claim that Duffield is unsupportive of the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, saying that ‘Rosie is supportive of Jeremy Corbyn. She likes him very much’. Speaking to the Guardian last week, Rosie Duffield said that she has full confidence in Corbyn as a leader and that he
Photo by Charlotte Cornell | Facebook
‘Rosie Duffield is supportive of Jeremy Corbyn. She likes him very much’ has privately been extremely supportive. She did hope, however, that he would in the future consider making a public intervention to support MPs facing censorship from local party members. Corbyn has previously refused to do so, stating that it is ‘wrong for me to intervene in the democratic rights of any part of the Labour
Party’. Regarding the content of the letter sent out to the CLP, Cornell told InQuire: ‘What I think the motion highlighted to me is that we as an office need to make sure our communication with the CLP is more regular and consistent.’ The motion to censor Duffield was later withdrawn by members of the CLP with an overwhelming majority. ‘We have now put in place some measures with the CLP to make sure this does not come around again because it was very disappointing for us and for Rosie,’ said Cornell, who also claims to be a ‘great friend and sounding board’ to the 47-year-old MP. Allegations of antisemitism in the UK Labour Party have been levelled since Jeremy Corbyn was first elected Labour leader in 2015. Recent accusations and revelations have prompted stern criticism from both Labour peers and Jewish figures such as former Chief Rabbi Johnathan Sacks. ‘Labour is absolutely not institutionally racist, and Jeremy Corbyn does not
endorse anti-Semitism,’ insist Cornell, who considers herself to be a Corbynite after voting for the Islington North MP in the Labour Leadership Election. ‘He [Jeremy Corbyn] has spent his lifetime standing up for marginalised and persecuted groups, often speaking up for the rights of Palestinians. In the media, this has become incredibly conflated. ‘I do wish that we adopted the full definition of the IHRA much earlier, which would have saved us a summer of pain. The distraction meant we were not able to get our message out about the big issues that we wanted to campaign on. That was hugely frustrating to me.’ Duffield, a mother of two children, is now considering her future as MP, writing in the Observer: ‘Sometimes you have to ask yourself if positives outweigh negatives, and whether it is worth the effect it is having on my family.’ A former teaching assistant, Duffield defeated Conservative Brexiter Julian Brazier in the 2017 general election, making her the first Labour MP since the constituency’s reformulation in 1885.
Photo by Rosie Duffield MP | Facebook
News
4
Joke of a degree Academic slams article for ‘sensationalising’ University of Kent course in stand-up as one of the ‘Most Useless Degrees in Europe’ By George Knight Head of Marketing
O
n 10 September 2018, VICE released an article titled ‘An Introduction to the Most Useless University Degrees in Europe’ in which they branded the University of Kent’s postgraduate course in stand-up comedy as a course ‘worth it if you want to spend 40 years not really making any money at all’. The articles author, Nana Baah, also described the course as ‘perfect for people who believe that constantly talking about how funny they are, while saying literally nothing funny, is perfectly acceptable first date chat’. Despite slandering the course, the article failed to gain reaction from the course’s former coordinator Dr Oliver Double, who highlighted that the course had not been active since ‘around
2015’. He explained further that VICE’s words had no impact on the state of the course and instead that the course was ‘killed by the government’. The course had run successfully from between 2001 to 2015 as an ‘extended undergraduate master program’. Originally the course was a 4 year course, with 3 years undergraduate and a final year in which students could ‘specialise’ in a selection of subjects, one of which was Stand-Up Comedy. As Oliver Double described, it became ‘unsustainable when the fees went up to £9,000 a year’. Despite their being, as Double noted, around ‘14 applications including two from overseas’ the course could not be maintained and so was ultimately cancelled. Double ensured that the article had not affected the department or the course itself and instead explained that the article
did more damage to VICE. Double named the article ‘bad journalism’ due to its lack of research and saw it as ‘insulting’ to the students who undertook the course. Double highlighted the article’s narrow focus and illustration of people who ‘talk about how funny they are, whilst saying nothing funny’ and its expectation that the course would produce comedians. He argued that many former students had gone on to achieve successful careers in areas beyond simply comedy such as publishing and education. He also argued that even within comedy, the course had produce many successful comedians including Comedian Choice winner Laura Lexx. This list of successful talent was further expanded by Matt Hoss, a former student and current comedian who undertook the course before its cancellation. He pointed towards comedian group ‘The Noise Next Door’ who have been ‘Eleven time sell-out veterans of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,’ as well as other groups such as ‘Three Half Pints’ who have shared similar success. Hoss also suggests that placing
Vice article
‘The article is bad journalism due to its lack of research; it’s insulting to students’ a label such as ‘useful’ upon a degree is ‘to deny what a university experience truly is’. He shared his own experience as an example, explaining how the course had helped him. ‘The course taught me how to be a great performer. It doesn’t tell you how to be funny, it makes your point humour accessible. Having the ability to speak in public, how to read body language, and how to read a room. I now teach workshops of public speaking at universities and to schools.’ He directly rejected the idea that the course was designed to make a comedian. Instead he supported Double’s view in that the course created more rounded individuals who explore their careers in various ways. Both Double and Hoss also highlighted the academic side of
the course, which VICE ignores. They both mentioned its place in the study of the ‘British Stand-Up Comedy Archive’, an institution established at the University of Kent in 2013 ‘to celebrate, preserve, and provide access to the archives and records of British stand-up comedy and comedians’. From this Double also expanded into how the course matched many classic degrees such as ‘English Literature’ and ‘Film Studies’. He expressed that the skills it provided made it ‘no more or less valuable than studying English Literature, Film or any other critical subject’. InQuire reached out to VICE Junior Staff Writer Nana Baah for comment. She said that she did not have anything further to add.
Kent falls out of Top 50 in Times 2019 rankings By Corben Neyland Features Editor
T
he annual university rankings released by The Times newspaper have placed the University of Kent in 55th place, a fall of 24 places from last year. The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 shows that the University of Kent has dropped to 9th in the South East, behind universities
such as Oxford, Southampton, Surrey, Buckingham and Portsmouth. Earlier this year, Kent fell 19 places in the Complete University Guide 2019 which saw it place in its lowest position for more than a decade, 44th. The Guide provides students and parents with essential information choosing what university to attend. The table is made up of nine indicators that universities
are judged on, including student satisfaction, research quality, graduate prospects, entrance qualifications held by new students, degree results, student-staff ratio, facilities, and completion rates. Though the university was awarded the gold award for Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), last year’s guide placed Kent in 88th for teaching quality, 68th for student experience, 33rd in
research quality, and 15th in graduate prospects. It also said that the college system that is operated by the University of Kent was ‘increasingly attractive to school-leavers, whose applications have risen by more than 15% in five years’. A major concern, however, is if graduate prospects are still within the top 20, staffing levels are within the top 20, and the applications of school leavers
have been steadily rising, then how does the university seem to be slipping down the tables? With the university having taken two plummets in the last two university tables, Kent must find a way to claw itself back up the tables if it wishes to achieve the top 20 ranking that it has been hovering over for the last few years. Go to page 16 for a full look into the university’s ranking and its 2020 plan.
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
5
Knock on Woodys News
By Daria Istayeva Website Editor
T
he on-campus bar, Woodys has opened its doors once again in the shape of the new state-of-the-art Parkwood Hub. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the old building, here is a short history of a small, but much beloved bar named Woodys. Woodys Bar opened in Parkwood in 1993 and quite quickly became “the place to be” for students and staff. Famous for its Stack Burger, live sports broadcasting, and the loud, lively atmosphere, Woodys was the centre of any group social. Come summer 2017, a post
appeared on the alumni Facebook page informing them of the bad news. It did not take long for the comments section to be flooded with the feeling of dismay and heartache. Amongst many unforgettable traditions, the round-the-world Woodys drinking challenge was fondly remembered by the members of the Kent alumni group. Since the early 1990s, the completers of this challenge were presented with a silver plaque which was then displayed on the wooden walls of Woodys. Alumna, Claire Stone stated on Facebook that she ‘still got the t-shirt to prove that she completed the challenge in 1995/1996’. Today, the collection of plaques proudly
hangs in the new and improved Woodys, leaving a subtle hint of memorable history. This attention to detail demonstrates Kent Union’s efforts to preserve the captivating charm of Woodys’ character. This summer, Woodys facebook page teased “Autumn 2018” as the opening date, answering the all-important question ‘When can we next order the stack burger?’ (The answer to that is Sunday.) Fastforward to two weeks ago and the ribbon is cut outside the £3 million Parkwood hub. The opening not only introduced a fresh Woodys bar but also new social areas, IT study hubs, updated convenience store and
two dance studios. Copeland and Featherstone are now the first and only much-needed dance studios on Canterbury campus. Following thorough research and student feedback, the names are based on two prominent figures in theatre and art: American ballet dancer Misty Danielle Copeland and Vicky Featherstone, the artistic director of London’s Royal Court Theatre. Popularity comes with a price, an issue Woodys faced in the past has been the lack of space, which was magnified during special events like the Super Bowl. To combat this issue, the new site can hold over 160 students. Other visible developments
include Kent Unions push for sustainability. Campus Coffee claims to ‘serve great coffee and good karma whilst putting 100% of profits back into the student experience’ and claim that they ‘exclusively use Single Original Coffee sourced and roasted by their friends at Curve Roasters in Margate.’ Curve Roasters are a sustainable coffee company existing since 2016. Union President, Aaron Thomson celebrated the new venue which took 18 months to build by stating: ‘Its definitely different, but I think students that come to Parkwood will really appreciate it.’ Read bellow for a review of Woodys.
Photos by Daria Istayeva
Woodys Review By Jesse Bedayn Newspaper Editor
W
oodys is renowned to third year students and alumni at the University of Kent. The old pub sat in the eastern corner of Campus, catering to Parkwood and the many sports teams that frequented the dimly lit, wooden interior to enjoy socials, a pool game with mates, or a football match projected onto the large screen that was unrolled for big events. Woodys was never cold or quiet, everfilled with the buzz of many conversations over a pint or boisterous shouts as a favourite team was cheered to victory or defeat—either way, a friend and
another pint was never more than ten feet away. When Kent Union decided to demolish and rebuild Woodys, finishing first year students— at the time—and alumni were fearful of losing the space that had hosted so many memories, while being warily excited for a new phase. The Student’s Union, understanding their concerns, used student feedback throughout the building process to ensure that the new Woodys didn’t lose its old charm as the center of the Parkwood community. The Union did well. Though the new Woodys lacks the old, charmingly dingy interior that the old Woodys was adored for, the modern changes do not take away from the cheerful atmosphere. The new space is larger, allowing for more conversations to build the amiable murmur that creates the homey nature of the pub. The menu has been upgraded,
while the prices have remained low. Though the burgers at Woodys were loved, the new street food menu, created with input from students, offers a range of affordable food from a Korean Pork Bap to a Breakfast Bun and, of course, the infamous Stack Burger, served only on Sundays. The old Recreation Burger is, if not a little overcooked, delicious, having lost a lot of the grease that accompanied it when ordered at the old Woodys. The new Grilled Steak Fries is a delightful combination, with the steak cooked to medium (they asked neither my friend nor me how we preferred our steak cooked). The cheese sauce that coated the steak was an appetizing addition, but the chimichurri lacked any freshness, was too sour, and tasted like it was poured from a can (Note: I had a disagreement with my friend
over the chimichurri). The small samples I tried of the other food, including the Baja Fish Taco and Tikka Wings, were superb, exceeding my expectations. With the refreshed menu offering a delicious variety of food, and the new space accommodating and promoting the old Woodys communal atmosphere, the only concern is service. My first order arrived with an apology for the delay, InQuire’s Website Lifestyle Editor’s tea order was forgotten as she stood at the bar, and our Head of Marketing, after asking after his late food more than once, was told that his order had arrived unbeknownst to him. After finally convincing the staff that the food was not actually in front of him, they said it would be 5-10 minutes. No food arrived, and George asked for a refund, which they granted. These are the first weeks of
Woodys opening, however, and any unsteady service can, I hope, be attributed to that. I have little doubt that the new staff, mainly students, will soon get their sea legs and the service will smooth itself out. Like any restaurant or pub, the beginning will always be a little unsteady, but the aesthetic, the new menu, and the retention of the old atmosphere all impressed me. As someone who loved the old Woodys, I had little faith that the new Woodys would in any way sufficiently replace the old. The first time I saw it my low expectations were dashed, and, having been back a couple times since, my admiration for what the Union has built has only grown. I encourage you to visit the exciting space and order some of the new food—and while you’re still waiting for your food, remember, another pint is only ten feet away.
6
Opinion
Brexit: A Monty Python sketch By Jordan Ifield Website News Editor
W
hen Fresher’s Fair occurred this week, one thing stuck out more blatantly than any free Domino’s could. Bright yellow fluorescent stickers proclaiming “Bollocks to Brexit” were being proudly worn like a badge of honour by students keen to display their political colours. Why now? Why has it taken nearly 2 years, and nearly the end of Brexit negotiations, for this action to occur? Why not when Article 50 was activated, or even in the immediate afternoon of the referendum? When the announcement was made on that fateful day 23 June 2016, spite was at an all time high. Resignations came, accusations of fear mongering flew, and most significantly, uncertainty became the norm.
In a year when Donald Trump was elected as President of the USA, and more celebrity deaths than an episode of celebrity Big Brother, Brexit signalled the start of a new era. And no one knew how to react. Two years later, we remain no different. Brexit has become that topic you don’t bring up at a family reunion. But it’s nothing that anyone is an expert on, or certainly a topic that someone knows the insides and out of. We are still in that initial era of confusion, as all we hear from either Brussels or Downing Street of more bickering than genuine progress or debate. This comes at a time when the movement for a second referendum has picked up momentum. This week, when Lord Adonis came to visit Kent, the audience was asked to raise their hands if they were in favour of another
referendum on the final deal of Brexit. Only a few remained down. These hands are the actions of a populace that are no longer passive in their distaste for Brexit, but active. In the immediate aftermath of the new ‘era’ we had entered, bitterness filled in, but that subsided. I question the phrase of ‘the will of the people’, as politics isn’t about popularity. Taxes however, aren’t popular, but they’re necessity, and that’s what I felt about the EU before we decided to leave. On the day of writing, Theresa May has come out defending her ‘Chequers Plan’ after EU leaders criticised it. She claimed that Britain should be treated with more ‘respect’ in Brexit negotiations. These are not the actions of a strong leader. A leader shouldn’t have to demand respect, it is ought
to be deserved as part of a meritocracy. Merely demanding it not only presents May as selfish, but more significantly undermines Britain’s position in the negotiations. What EU leader is going to react to this in a positive way? In the last edition of InQuire, Kent Chancellor Gavin Elser declared that he’d changed his mind on respecting the decision of the first referendum ‘over the last two years of lies and incompetence’. For those of you of old enough disposition, I ask you to recall the Monty Python sketch of the Black Knight. Big ego, losses limb after limb and continues to fight on, not knowing when
to give up until too late. Now think of Theresa May.
Photo by EysteinKN | Deviant Art
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
7
Opinion
The unknown territory: university expenditure By Maisie Lee Newspaper Opinion Editor
T
he worrying rises in tuition and living cost each year saturate the ostensibly academic and supportive atmosphere with stress. Recent figures suggest that the average student debt of £50,000 might not be worthwhile, as universities have refused to spend the money per students’ wishes. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the income of universities across the UK has increased since 2009. With growing
pressures being placed on students in England, university income has risen from average of £26.8 billion to £34.5 billion between 2009 and 2017. Despite the increased income, universities have decided to spend less on higher education staff—63% of current expenditure—when neighbouring European competitors invest greater amounts in the education workforce. The lack of investment in staff should not be taken light heartedly. The Student Academic Experience Survey conducted by the HEPI (Higher Education Policy
Institute) has revealed that ‘students want universities to prioritise investment in teaching and staff’. With doubts raised on how far a university degree could can help students’ careers, now the British higher education is risking its fundamental value: academia. The marketisation of education, which eventually transformed universities into ‘big business’ and a ‘large lobby group’, would naturally encourage institutions to prioritise aspects like league table rankings or university facilities over, than teaching and the academic staff.
According to Universities UK, around 44% of the total income are is spent on teaching and research, while the staff pay has declined by 21% since 2009 and the total amount of public investment in education scored 25% of total spending, one of the lowest in the OECD. With rising total income funded by increased tuition fees and greater revenue from business activities, universities have chosen to spend less in teaching and research, countering the majority of the students’ wishes in the UK. Students beginning their undergraduate course are forced to make one of the
biggest ‘purchases’ of their life, yet witness universities disregard their fair and just demand. Life and academia in university as an undergraduate student can be the most meaningful phase of life, but only with assurance that the students’ voices will be heard. When a university degree is expensive than ever and its value doubted upon young adults, it is time for higher education institutions to implement ways to reflect their voice and financial investment in a greater and more efficient way.
recently announced plans to provide free menstruation products to low-income menstruators and to all students from school through university. Campaigns such as #freeperiod are putting pressure on the UK government to introduce similar schemes throughout the rest of the UK. Societal change, however, takes time, and there are those in need right now. Organisations like The Red Box Project and Bloody Good Period are helping to fill this gap by providing free menstruation products to low-income menstruators and refugees respectively, while homeless charities such as Catching Lives in Canterbury provide donated sanitary products. The second part of period poverty is a menstruation education deficit. The government have recently announced plans to make PSHE (personal, social,
health, and education) and RSE (relationships and sex education) compulsory in all secondary schools. While positive, this announcement illustrates the varying levels of education students have received on menstruation. This has produced shocking results: one in seven girls
tools or confidence to seek the information out themselves. There are many ways to go about fixing this situation. Expanding the focus from biology education alone to lived experience and practicalities of periods is a priority. Furthermore, menstruation should also be regularly taught rather than relegated to one lesson. It is also vital to include those traditionally excluded from these lessons such as disabled students, as well as transgender and non-binary students. The inclusion of boys is particularly important to ensure that they, rather than joking about periods or bullying their fellow students, understand what menstruators go through and are able to offer support. The final contributor to period poverty is linked to the period education deficit and it is the shame surrounding menstruation—a ‘menstrual stigma’. This issue is strikingly common. 48% of girls responded they were embarrassed by their period in a survey. This demonstrates a harmful belief among menstruators that there is something wrong with their normal bodily functions. Negative associations with
menstruation have been in place for society for years, and consistently reinforced. For instance, advertising relies on euphemistically using blue liquid and emphasising ‘cleanliness’, shamelessly suggesting that menstruation is unhygienic. An effort to ‘reclaim’ menstruation is necessary to replace negative connotations with positive ones. As Plan UK suggests, associating menstruation with maturity is one way. Slam-poet Dominique Christina, in ‘The Period Poem’, associates menstruation with strength, nature and feminist politics. It is this reclamation of menstruation that contributes to ending the shame and taboo that is so prevalent in our society. Ending menstrual stigma, ensuring all menstruators can access necessary products and expanding and improving education are all vital steps necessary to ending the ‘toxic trio’ of period poverty. It should be borne in mind that the period poverty around the globe robs the world of girls’ potential, and steals their happiness. It is, therefore, vital that period poverty is viewed as a global problem of great urgency, which we are all capable of helping to end.
The fight against period poverty By Jake Metcalf Writer
L
Photo by Alice Skinner| Pinterest
ast March, Always launched a campaign promising to donate one menstruation pad for every pack of Always Ultra purchased in an attempt to end ‘period poverty’—menstruators not being able to afford pads or tampons. They have since donated nearly 13 million pads, showing that campaign has certainly achieved practical results. Period poverty is not just about a lack of funds. As a study by Plan International UK found, both poor education and taboos surrounding menstruation combine with a lack of money form the ‘toxic trio’ of period poverty. Figures show menstruators in the UK may spend over £18,000 on their period throughout their lifetime. This is because sanitary products are not provided by the government and are classed as a ‘luxury product’. Shouldering this cost has resulted in 40% of girls being forced to use unsuitable replacements like toilet paper or clothing. While this tax is to end later this year, the issue is still prevalent and most significantly felt by the poorest, with a clear link established between general poverty and period poverty. So how can this be addressed? The Scottish government
admitted to not knowing what was happening when they started their period, and over a quarter had no idea what to do. This demonstrates that young females have neither been taught about their periods sufficiently, nor given the
8
Opinion
Climate change speeding up By Katinka Pim Newspaper Lifestyle Editor
U
K, Summer 2018: England’s reached the semi-finals in the World Cup, Danny Dyer’s daughter was on Love Island, and the heatwave seemed to last forever. A persistent hot summer like the one not only we, but the rest of Europe and other parts of the world had, can’t help but draw one’s mind to the accelerating global warming. Not too many months before this historic heatwave started, we suffered one of the coldest and longest winters we’ve had in decades. This juxtaposition may remind one of President Trump’s comments on global warming’s impossibility in this cold. ‘Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!’. Trump here, like many others, has made the mistake of confusing weather and climate. Researches explain how these cold fronts can actually be linked to global warming.
As the ice caps melt, caused by the warming of the planet, the phenomenon correlates to a pattern of a jet stream that pushes cold air from the arctic down to lower altitudes. In addition to this, since 2012, arctic melting rate has tripled. The news went viral but soon was wiped from people’s heads, and many worried about the lack of attention it was getting. We are living in an age where social media overwhelms our thoughts. We are brainwashed with images of war, pain, disaster, and loss. It seems we are watching a film, frozen, and unable to prevent our impending doom. News and social media show scenes not dissimilar to real-life disaster movies. Suddenly films like 2012 don’t seem all that unrealistic. Whilst the tweets and images paralyse us the new sets of evidence suggest global warming is behind Europe’s recent scorching summer. We are under a ‘high pressure ridge’, allowing tropical heat
to climb to the arctic, blocking rainfalls which would have ended the relentless summer. This heat reached all the way up to Scandinavia, with temperatures of 32 Celsius in Finland, Norway, and leading to wildfires in Sweden. In the UK, a satellite picture went viral on twitter, of England shown with just one month’s difference. Once vibrantly green became a musty brown image of thirst. What’s so bad about a hot summer, some may think. According to CNN, 2018 is the fourth hottest year on record, with 2015, 16 and 17 to be the only ones to beat it. Yet, we are hardly aware of some more unknown adverse effects of climate change. Hay fever. Pollen count is said to double over the next 30 years and in the US alone,
spring is arriving 20-30 days earlier than just 20 years ago. It foreshadows that in places where pollen is not as common, plants will be thriving, growing, and reproducing at higher latitudes. Droughts in California, caused by ice caps melting. Hurricanes, known to be energized and intensified by warmer oceans. And the most frightening of all? The ‘Pandora’s Box’ of diseases which is said to be released from the ice as the caps melt. Released into nearby food and soil, infecting food
and water, potentially killing many. From million years old bacteria, to the most recent, such as the Spanish flu virus, Smallpox, and the Bubonic plague. To top it all off, ice caps are melting at an increasing rate, decades before scientists expected. If we are already at this stage, years before prediction, where’s global warming going to leave us next? How much more can alarming tweets and emaciating online debates do?
Photo by NASA SVS | NASA Center for Climate Simulation
KILC: Why join a law society? By Bill Bowkett Newspaper News Editor
A
re you interested in the legal world and looking to become part of a community of students who have similar academic interests to you? Then perhaps joining a Law society such as the Kent International Law Society (KILC) may be for you. Law societies run for the benefit of all Kent Law students with the distinct aim of providing great opportunities to gain practical skills in the field of law. In the case of KILC, they aim to explore compelling areas of law and order beyond the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, giving students a more detailed look into the wider legal profession. KILC, created in 2017 was nominated for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Academic Communities’ at
the Kent Student Awards. Here opportunity to interact with their first arbitration moot are some reasons to its growth sponsors and provide key during the second term of the into a beloved student law information about themselves. previous academic year with society on campus. KILC successfully hosted Shazia Afgan, BPP University KILC is an excellent place to Law School professor and strengthen career prospects, UKC’s Johanne Thompson, meet potential employers who is Criminal Law and bolstering a broad Convenor and KLS moot skillset through coordinator. networking events KIL, compete in and law related various varsity trips. Last term, competitions— KILC organised such as speed a trip to the mooting, International negotiations, Criminal Court debating, in the Hague, and client Netherlands, and a interviewing—also trip to the European collaborating with Court of Human the University of Rights in Strasbourg, London Law society; France, in collaboration the first and only with ELSA UK. intercollegiate law society Law societies in the UK, with provide members networking from events, giving various UK Photo by Kent International Law Society | Facebook students the universities
including UCL, King’s, LSE, SOAS, and Queen Mary. Law societies are not solely driven by academia; they additionally hold social events throughout the year in order to engage students and most of all, have fun. KILC host a festive ball during Christmas period celebrating the work and achievements of the society. KILC are passionate about being active and sociable. Members are given the chance to be a part of a well-respected and dynamic society that believes in the importance of accepting diversity and practicing inclusivity. This society is aimed at all the students in law, all years, part time and full time, international as well as local. To find out more about the different events happening throughout the year and the society itself, visit KILC’s facebook page.
Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Is social media a burden on young people?
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
9
Photo by Blogtrepreneur | Flickr
By Molly Hope Editor-in-Chief
A
s I sat scrolling through my pictures on my phone, desperately trying to find one I deemed good enough to post on Instagram, I found myself frustrated by the pressure to post a photo other people would consider ‘attractive’. Why did my night out have to be validated by other peoples ‘likes’ on social media? I felt sure that other people must feel the same way, but my friends often made it seem so effortlessly enjoyable that I thought I must be doing something wrong. ‘Do you feel like social media is a burden on you?’ I asked a group of friends as we sat chatting in the living-room. Despite my question being fairly broad, it quickly became clear that Instagram was the focus of our conversation. Other social medias like Twitter and Facebook seemed to be a source of little anxiety for
people, saying Facebook had become ‘a fact of life’ rather than a social media. Instagram seemed to be what made us feel the most pressure and the most judged by others. Something about Instagram
but admitted feeling pressure to make sure she took photos that would be ‘good enough’ to post. I asked them how they would feel if they didn’t get very many ‘likes’ on a picture and although most acknowledged it would make them feel worse, they also said that their mood would recover quickly and not affect them too deeply. Despite this, it was clear that we all felt the burden of social media and were aware of how quickly it could get out of control. Recognising that it’s okay not to be okay and that everyone goes through struggles and low moods is so important to a positive mental health and is something social media has taken away from us. ‘We are constantly comparing ourselves to other people’ one friend chimed in before adding, ‘Instagram makes people seem happier than they are’, effectively summing
Other social medias like Twitter and Facebook seemed to be a source of little anxiety for people, saying Facebook had become ‘a fact of life’ rather than a social media. felt more exposed. No frills, nothing to hide behind, just a picture. One friend spoke about how Instagram allowed her to express her ‘love of photography and editing’ and she called it her ‘favourite app’
up the unhealthy image that Instagram promotes of people’s lives that leaves us feeling alone in our sadness. ‘I need people to know I’m still here’ another friend added poignantly,
Finally, I asked if they thought if, ‘as a generation, we would be happier without social media?’ and the resounding answer was ‘yes’. If that was the case, then why do we not all delete our accounts? If we are aware that it contributes to our unhappiness why do we continue to take part? ‘I’d be missing out’, my friend says simply, and I had to agree. If no one had social media I’m sure we can all agree that it could have many benefits, but leaving social media whilst the rest of your peer group remain leaves you an outsider, a modern-day social pariah. I ended the conversation feeling reassured that I wasn’t alone in the burden I felt from social media and begrudgingly resigned to our fate as a generation trapped in the social media bubble, unable and unwilling to get out.
On the other hand, social media brings us closer than we have ever been before.
highlighting a sentiment I felt we could all relate to. On the other hand, social media brings us closer than we have ever been before. Whether that is through ‘Facebook events’, being able to ‘mark yourself safe’ in tragic events or joining a Twitter campaign, social media is a force for communication and social change. But do the pros outweigh the cons?
P.S. follow me on Instagram @missmollyhope
10
Lifestyle
Budapest on a budget
By India Bushell Writer
Travel:
I
f you are willing to compromise on the quality of airline you travel with, return tickets to Budapest can be under £100. Although this varies depending on how far in advance you book, and during which season, flights can be surprisingly affordable. You can’t be picky when trying to book a holiday with a slim budget, and on a flight this short (2.5 hours) I suggest finding the cheapest flights available and spend the money saved on something more worth it once you have arrived.
Transport:
When I went interrailing around Eastern Europe last summer, Budapest was by far the easiest city to get around. In every underground station you can buy a travelcard that lasts anywhere from 12 hours to 7 days. This gets you on most, if not all of the public transport. Trams are the most unique and allow you to see the city as you travel. The underground is fast, efficient, and generally quiet during the day. Alternatively, Budapest is very easy to walk around too. With reliably
interesting people. Hostels in Budapest can be found around every corner. Aventura Boutique Hostel is a great example, offering themed dormitory rooms for roughly £9 a night. There’s also the option of staying in an Airbnb—don’t let horror stories of people being scammed put you off. It’s worth having a look at properties with plenty of reviews. Although often more expensive than hostels, they can be incredibly good value for those looking for more privacy. Rent a room within an apartment to save money and often the owner will allow you to use the
Photo by Dan Novac | Unsplash
gorgeous weather during the summer, using your own legs to get around is enjoyable and free!
Accommodation:
Whilst there is a variety of beautiful hotels in Budapest, many of them may not be budget friendly. Thankfully, for those of us who can’t splash £40 a night for a week, there are also plenty of hostels to choose from—often in more interesting buildings, and with more
shopping, museums, or nightlife, there is something for everyone. As is always the case, if you go out drinking every night the cost will pile up. There are some bars and clubs in Budapest (‘Instant’, an example) that have gained reputations as good nights out for students. As a result, drink prices (although still reasonably low for Europe) are more than they would be elsewhere. Excluding drinking the cost of a day out in Budapest tends to be low. Most, if not all of the museums and tourist attractions around the city offer student deals that are half of the regular ticket prices (just make sure you have your NUS card). If it is a completely cost-free day you desire, the city itself is a must to explore, owing to its beauty, culture and history. Some examples: The sprawling Jewish Quarter, the gardens of the Buda Castle, and the walks along the Danube are all incredible places to spend time, and completely free.
Food:
Photo by Lucas Davies | Unsplash
kitchen and living spaces as well— providing you keep it tidy. You are also more likelwy to find somewhere to stay that is very central.
Things to do:
Whether you prefer classic sightseeing,
Like all big cities, Budapest has a massive range of prices when it comes to restaurants and cafes. Since the creation of websites like TripAdvisor, it has been easy to find a place to eat that is within your budget and close by. On the other hand, going out to eat is not your only option. If you can snag a hostel with a communal kitchen, or an Airbnb with an available kitchen, it’s just as convenient to get some cheap ingredients from a supermarket and cook for yourself.
Digital study guide: helpful apps
By Goeun Maisie Lee Newspaper Opinion Editor
R
esourcefulness, organisation, and focus. Whilst it’s not easy to maintain these three prime studying conditions, smart devices have made it easier. We tend to regard our digital devices as a distraction, associating them with texting, social networking, googling, procrastinating, but rarely studying. With a little bit of golddigging on the app store, however, your 5-inch screen can easily become your study-buddy. Here are the four apps that were used, tested, and rated by InQuire’s Opinion Editor.
1. Simplemind: 4 stars We have all been taught how helpful mind maps are in organising and linking our thoughts, Simplemind was designed with this in mind. With easy to use digital sketching and archiving of mind maps, the app can be used for
making schedules and to-do lists. Insert a keyword in the centre yellow box and you can start filling out the bubbles, expanding the thread of your ideas. If you struggle organising your ideas and thoughts, I’d recommend Simplemind in order to effectively plan for, and throughout, your studies.
2. Brain.fm: 3 stars Many people like to listen to music whilst studying, counter to advice we heard in school about. Music, however, may not always be detrimental to your learning. For those who are tired of browsing through Spotify and Youtube’s study music playlists, Brain.fm may be the app for you. This app provides selections of natural sounds including sea waves and raindrops. The app has different modes such as focus, meditate, sleep, and nap, creating an environment for even better and more productive study sessions in the aftermath.
3. Biscuit dictionary:
Photo by freestocks.org | Unsplash
5 stars Dictionaries are essential, but it can be time consuming looking for the right word, or repeatedly typing out your search. This app is cute, time-efficient, and is displayed like flashcards. Each card sums up the meaning of the term into three or four words so it can be quickly grasped. It also keeps a history of all the words you’ve searched, helping you to go back to find them in the form of your own personal glossary.
4. Studying Amino: 3 stars Studying Amino is a social media for studying. Whilst studying alone is usually most efficient, sometimes
company can help. Whether it’s for motivation, bouncing ideas of off each other, or general questions, studying in a group can also be very useful. Studying Amino is your digital adviser, containing study tips and recommendations for all the different sources you may need, whether it’s books or online tools. It’s a small community formed filled with those searching for better study methods. Just like Instagram or twitter, you can follow accounts that are most helpful for you and subscribe to their posts related to studying. A danger I found with the app, however, is that you can get distracted scrolling through your feed for too long and end up procrastinating.
Friday 29 September 2017 InQuire
11
Lifestyle
Fashion across the Channel: English vs French W
hen one thinks of classic fashion, a few stereotypical looks come to mind. Notably there’s the preppy and brightly coloured wardrobe of the English. Or perhaps the timeless Coco Chanel inspired looks of the French. Both England and France have spent centuries stealing and personalising each other’s’ celebrated fashion pieces. An example, the trench coat: originally English, becomes French. Or the red lipstick, emblem of Parisian chic, becomes adopted by English modernday women as well. There are, however, ingrained differences, which as a woman born and raised in France but studying in England, I feel I have a unique insight into. English fashion tends to sway towards either a polished or relaxed look, whereas the French use ‘casual-chic’ to get by on any occasion. Hence the red lipstick, often used as a transition to make a day outfit into an evening one. The result is that the English master two separate styles, whereas the French use only one for everyday outfits. This gives the British the opportunity to explore two different possibilities of styles, and to extend them, leading to a wardrobe with wide choice. The French, however get by with fewer items. This doesn’t seem to bother them much, as by culture, they prefer quality over quantity. For instance, the French tend to invest more in a few statement fashion pieces to be worn and kept for a lifetime. The idea is to plan each outfit around a statement piece, such as the famous Burberry Trench Coat,
By Eloise Mccrohan Writer
immortalised by Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin (who seemed to live in theirs). The French tend to accord more importance to Haute Couture brands (such as Chanel, Christian Dior, or Louis Vuitton) than the British. The statement wardrobe of a French woman offers little variety
Photo by Marcin Nowak | Unsplash
Photo by Ben Weber | Unsplash
compared to a British one. The latter, owing to the obsession with different styles and trends, buy as many pieces as they like, most of them disposable purchases. These are to be worn on a few nights out and then disregarded. The British idolise trends, no matter what the make, some
examples: Hippy, Punk, Mods, and Rockers. The tartan skirt, or scarf, was a piece that no brand could claim as their own. The same thing goes for the revolutionary mini skirt, the tweed jacket, and many others. The emphasis has always been put on the item itself and not the
brand. On the other hand, the French will fight tooth and nail for certain makes. A vintage Chanel jacket is worth more to most French Women than an entire wardrobe of charming, lovely, pieces of inconsequential brands. ‘Matières nobles’, meaning noble materials, and the statement they make, is one of reason for this great love of brands. A French wardrobe will usually
Photo by Zohre Nemanti | Unsplash
Photo by Anthony Delanoix | Unsplash
be filled to the brim with cashmere, wool, and silk, linen and leather, all of these fabrics expertly handcrafted. The French have a particular and unreasonable distaste for synthetic materials. Culture plays an important role in French fashion. From a young age, both girls and boys are subjected to it. It surrounds them. Not only is it a substantial part of French exportation, (Louis Vuitton, L’Oréal, and Chanel to name a few of the most successful), but it can also be found in every history curriculum. Louis XIV, one of the many fashion-forward kings of Versailles, used his clothes as a statement of wealth, status, and victory. From his lavish cloaks to his red heels, symbolic of walking in the blood of his enemies, he inspired the fashion of many a court around the globe. There is no doubt of the historical impact France has had on the world of fashion, an impact that hasn’t faltered over the Photo by freestocks.org | Unsplash ages.
12
Lifestyle
Hangover help F
reshers week has just ended. A week inevitably full of hangovers. If you haven’t been able to find your perfect hangover cure yet, it’s because you can’t. The NHS website states cures are a myth, however there are ways to prevent hangovers or help alleviate some painful symptoms:
By Katinka Pim Newspaper Lifestyle Editor
By Raffia Khalid Writer
Food
Review of
Cafe des Amis
yourself is key. Water before bed, water as soon as you wake up, and water all throughout the day. ocated on the •Other fluids: replenishing your doorstep of electrolytes can also alleviate the chances Westgate Towers, of a hangover. Fluids such as sports overlooking the drinks, coconut water, or bouillon Great Stour river, lies Before: soup (a thin, vegetable-based the eccentric Café •Grease up: greasy broth) can restore the salt des Amis. Not to be food can decrease the and potassium you’ve lost. fooled by the French effects of a hangover. It also helps replenish the sounding name— Alcohol is absorbed sugars and salts in your the menu draws into your system system quickly. inspiration from the slower, as it is said •Rest: the perfect melange of vibrant your intestines excuse to go back to bed, flavours of modern Mexico, with a become greased, have a nap, or just watch Mediterranean twist. The restaurant Photo by rawpixel | Unsplash or ‘lined’. An old some Netflix. You’re not gained publicity when the Lord of the folk remedy claims a going to be up for much else. Rings star (and former Canterbury teaspoon of olive oil before •Food: Electrolytes in food resident) Orlando Bloom described a night out is the way to go but it as ‘The best Mexican food InQuire’s favorite hangover you’ll ever eat’, claiming he pizza, other junk food, or milk has the same effect. always tries to fit in a trip foods: •Carbohydrates: it is never good to start when visiting his home town. •Molly, Editor in Chief: Salted pretzels and drinking on an empty stomach. Eating A chance to spot Orlando in orange lucozade sport Carbohydrates such as pasta or rice also the flesh, however, isn’t the •Jesse, Newspaper Editor: Coffee and a cigarette allows alcohol to be absorbed slower into only reason why dining here •Bill, Newspaper News: Cheese toastie with your body decreasing your chances of a is a must. any and all cocktail sauces: ketchup, US mustard, hangover. The restaurant itself is chutney, chili, HP, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce and •Dark coloured drinks: different fairly large, with plenty of whatever else you have. alcohols contain different congeners. The seating available, although •Jordan, Website News: bacon Sandwich darker the alcohol the more they have, the restaurant can get busy, •Maisie, Newspaper Opinion: Korean soybean worsening the effects of a hangover. so I would recommend paste soup Avoid drinks such as red wine, whiskey booking a table in advance. •Katinka, Newspaper Lifestyle: Tea or coffee or dark rum. Outdoor seating is also and a fat meal if I can stomach it, for example eggs •Drink water: the most common cause available, which is be perfect on toast, pasta or just cereal. of a bad hangover? Dehydration. NHS for those sunnier days, as •Tiree, Website Lifestyle: two satsumas before website states alcohol makes you pee you have a wonderful view bed more, sending water to your bladder of the historical Westgate •Emmanuel, Newspaper Entertainment: faster than normal, so make sure you’re towers. On the other hand, McDonalds double sausage and egg McMuffin constantly drinking water. A Pint before the restaurant is located right •Corben, Newspaper Culture: eggs on toast bed always does the trick. by one of the city’s busiest •Maryah, Website Culture: cheesy pasta roundabouts, which can •Megan, Website Sports: chicken nuggets, During: distract from the ambient essentials burger and cheesy chips •Don’t completely exhaust yourself: atmosphere. •George, Marketing: cheese on toast with although not the cause of a hangover, Once entering the Worcester sauce waking up exhausted definitely doesn’t restaurant, you’re greeted help. If you have a heavy night of with a well-lit rustic drinking ahead, maybe take it easy with help replenish a dehydrated system. environment that is inspired by the dancing. Hangovers need foods that are easy the Mediterranean heritage of the •Watch out for soft drinks: fizzy drinks to digest, for example toast, cereal or menu. With a predominantly red speed up the rate alcohol is absorbed into crackers. Eggs are also said to reverse theme, the walls are covered in photo your body, which increases your chance liver damage caused by alcohol. frames featuring quirky 3D cartoon of a hangover. •Ginger: tear or crystalised, ginger helps animals and people, which although •Avoid mixing alcohol: especially ones prevent or alleviate nausea. a little strange, I believe this janky with different congeners. Don’t mix •Sugary foods: these can help you feel décor works perfectly with the music what’s dark and what’s light. less ‘trembly’. played, making the restaurant feel •Drink water: a useful tip I learnt is to •Avoid coffee: it’s a diuretic, making you homely and welcoming. The chairs, drink a glass of water for every glass of lose water quickly. It also adds to heart however, although complimenting alcohol you have. It shouldn’t sober you palpations and sweats you may already the decoration wonderfully, aren’t up, but it will decrease your chances of a be suffering from. the most comfortable. hangover. •Painkillers: good for headaches The menu presents a variety of •Walk home: do this with a friend, and or muscle cramps. The NHS advises classic Mexican dishes to choose not alone. This can sober you up and ibuprofen, however aspirin also works, from, including nachos, fajitas, clear your head. Waking up the next day but is not advised for an upset stomach. tacos, and enchiladas. The menu is always easier when you haven’t gone to Antacids also help settle a stomach. further reflects how modern Mexican bed drunk. •Time: only real cure for a hangover. food is inspired by its rich crossThey can last anywhere from 8-24 hours, cultural history, including its close After: so I’d suggest you prepare and follow relationship with the USA, and its •Drink water: rehydrating some of the tips above. French and Spanish colonisation. An
W
Photo by Jim Linwood | Flickr
example: ‘Texas style Omelette’ and Paella are also on offer. An aspect I found pleasantly surprising was the freshness of the food. It’s all made from scratch and locally sourced, the butchers, Hedgers in St Dunstable, is a short walk away from the restaurant, and Dumbrells provide the restaurant’s fruit and vegetables. After ordering the nachos, I found them to be satisfyingly fried and crispy, and the pulled pork enchiladas which I chose as a main were full of flavour. The choice of salsa is emphasised—the menu describes it as the ‘heart of Mexican cuisine’. Available in mild, medium hot, hot, and, phenomenally hot, I decided to be brave and try the last: ‘Single Habanero Salsa’. I must admit, it did live up to expectations of being ‘phenomenally’ hot. I finished my meal with a slice of chocolate cake, which was the best I’ve had in a while. I really couldn’t fault the food at all. The drinks menu was additionally impressive. Happy hour (from 5pm to 6pm every weekday) offers half price beers, frozen cocktails, and wine. I ordered the frozen Margarita, which was delightful. There’s also a rich selection of Mexican beers and wine to choose from, and a very handy wine selecting chart. The real drink specialty, however, is the choice of Tequila, a traditional Mexican spirit. The house tequila offered is Cabrito—the most popular brand in Mexico. There’re also many premium tequilas to choose from. The lesser known ‘Mezcal’— described as ‘Tequila’s smoky, sinewy, mysterious grandfather’ is also available, and is worth a try if you want something different and authentically Mexican. The lively atmosphere and flavourful food made for a wonderful evening. Although slightly out of budget for a student to visit here regularly, the quality of the food is worth a visit on occasion.
Friday 29 September 2017 InQuire
Hungarian cuisine I
f you aren’t able to travel to Budapest but would love a taste of their culture and cuisine, these two authentic Hungarian recipes are perfect for you. Hungarians love their meat and paprika, their meals always having a unique taste. All of this is recognizable in the following recipes.
13
Lifestyle
By Katinka Pim Newspaper Lifestyle Editor
Stuffed Hungarian Peppers Ingredients:
Beef Goulash Stew
8-10 green peppers (sweet or slightly hot) 500g leg or shoulder of pork 1 small onion, grated 50g lard Photo by Gaelle Marcel | Unsplash
TIP: If you have a Polish shop near you,
shop there. Hungarian and Polish food overlap. Try to find the peppers there, Hungarian peppers are very different to the English. These will be more yellow than green, and fairly long.
Method:
1-2 green peppers diced
Cut the top off the green peppers, remove the seeds and ribs. Add the onion in 10g lard and stirring cook 30 seconds. Mince the meat, mix with the rice, onion, and salt. Loosely fill the green peppers with the stuffing and make a hole in the middle with the end of the stirring spoon so that the rice will w room to grow. Place the stuffed green peppers in a pot and pour hot, salted water on top to cover them. Cook on a low heat on top of the stove under cover for 50 minutes. Meanwhile, in another pot cook the tomatoes with a little water and reduce to pulp, pass through a sieve or a tomato mincer. Prepare a roux from the flour and the remaining lard, stir in the tomatoes puree, flavor with sugar and salt, then pour over the stuffed green peppers and cook gently for about 10 minutes.
Salt, to taste
TIP: An easier way of preparing the sauce
Photo by Jennifer Pallian | Unsplash
Ingredients: 800g Shank, blade or rump beef 1 Large Onion 50g lard
1 teaspoon paprika
50g rice 1kg tomatoes, chopped 40g flour Granulated sugar to taste Salt, to taste
is to dilute the tomato paste with water to a desired thickness. Serve with boiled potatoes.
Photo by Milkovi | Unsplash
Method:
Cut the cleaned meat into 2-centimeter cubes. SautĂŠ the onion in lard until opaque, ass the meat, the green peppers and tomato, salt. Stir for 1 or 2 minutes, add a small amount of water, cover and braise until tender. If necessary, add liquid, but very little at a time. When half-done, add the paprika and brown the meat. Add water sparingly to keep the sauce thick, bring to boil and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes.
TIP: It will taste better if you add red wine instead of water at the end.
Serve with boiled potatoes or egg barley or maize porridge with salad and pickles.
Photo by Pratiksha Mohanty | Unsplash
14
Entertainment
‘To All the Boys I Loved Before’ review A
By Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor
fter reading the book To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and having enjoyed it, I was excited to watch the film adaptation recently released exclusively on Netflix. The film tells the story of a teenage girl named Lara Jean who writes letters to all the boys she’s ever had a crush on and stores them away in a hat box. One day those letters go missing and end up in the hands of the boys she wrote them to. It is a cliché story but the character of Lara Jean is relatable and her family life is comical. I loved reading about the family’s culture and traditions, Lara Jean’s mother is Korean and her father is a white American while herself and her siblings were raised in America. The film, however, left me disappointed. The film focused too much on the way that the characters looked rather than their personalities. Lara Jean was very bland and unrelatable, never saying too much
and seemingly had no hobbies whereas in the book she was very interested in
cooking. Similarly, the film’s version of Peter was solely based on his looks rather than his in-depth family life or his love for lacrosse as the book
portrayed. On a bright note, the cinematography
classic ‘90s soundtracks of high school dramas that are all so loved. The thing that disappointed me most was the timeline. One minute, Lara Jean is in love with Josh, and then almost the next week, she’s in love with Peter. The good dialogue from the book was cut to make space for action shots of the characters ‘looking good’. There was no chemistry between Lara and Josh in the film, their relationship lacked the banter that it has in the book. Furthermore, the other supporting characters were unbelievable and simply archetypes of characters in similar high school drama films. Although I would not recommend To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and did Photo by Netflix not think it was a good adaptation of was aesthetically pleasing and the shots the book, it’s worth watching if only to differed from typical basic shots in the laugh at the terrible acting. At least it usual cliché teenage dramas. The music, serves as a good reminder of how good however, was forgettable, unlike the the book was.
Oscars 2019 preview: Chazelle vs Jenkins again? By Emmanuel Omodeinde Newspaper Entertainment Editor
M
oonlight shocked the world when it upset La La Land and won the Oscar for Best Picture. Its moment to shine was somewhat tainted by the infamous faux pas of the wrong envelope being read out and the cast and crew of La La Land getting up on stage before realising there had been a mistake. Not many predicted Moonlight would win when put up against industry favourite La La Land which was directed by young director, Damien Chazielle, who had plenty of industry buzz after Whiplash won three Oscars in 2015. A film in which Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play idealistic actors and musicians in Hollywood finding love and following their dreams seemed like a shoo-in. History seems doomed to repeat itself. Though let’s hope this time the wrong envelope isn’t read out again. If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to Moonlight, based on the James Baldwin novel of the same name is already receiving Oscar buzz after its premiere at TIFF
(Toronto International Film Festival) and is almost certainly a shoo-in for Best Picture nomination. Damien Chazelle also has a new feature film being released this year and like If Beale Street Could Talk will most certainly receive a Best Picture nomination as well. Once again both Jenkins (aged 38) and Chazelle (33) are being pitted against each other as the hip, (relatively) young directors ready to take over the old crusty white men at the top in Hollywood. Following on from the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and the #MeToo movement, awards ceremonies such as the Oscars and Emmys are increasingly irrelevant and
are desperate to bring in new young members and viewers. 12 Years a Slave looked like
the beginning of a small but significant change in the voting of the Oscars. In a pretty white Oscars, it seemed like the token Black film that would help all other Black films and filmmakers advance. Films by black directors were rarely nominated for Best Picture and studios rarely gave money to black filmmakers for big budget films. Black filmmakers were active and have been active
throughout the history of the Oscars (and before) but other than Spike Lee they rarely got recognition. Even Lee has only been nominated for two Oscars and never won throughout his three decades of filmmaking. Steve McQueen became the first black Photo by TIFF filmmaker to win an Academy Award for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave in 2014. Problem solved right? Now we know that black people also make great filmmakers. Right? Wrong. In 2015, for the second consecutive year, all twenty acting nominees and four out of the five directors nominated were white. Former activist and former attorney April Reign started the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite,
a campaign followed and here we are three years later and things are starting to look up. The next year Moonlight won Best Picture and Hidden Figures was nominated for the category. Since the #OscarsSoWhite campaign in 2016, the Oscars has invited hundreds of women and people of colour to join its voting body of over 7000 members with a goal of “doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.” While we can expect If Beale Street Could Talk to get a nomination next year as well as Spike Lee’s Black KKKlansman and Steve McQueen’s Widows, diversity is the least of the Academy’s problems. As long as it continues to only slap sexual abusers on the wrists and fosters a toxic environment for marginalised people real change will not come. Not unless the institution radically overturns its foundation but for now we’ll watch as it celebrates itself by rewarding a few tokens while continuing to be hypocritical.
Friday 29 September 2017 InQuire
15
Entertainment
‘BoJack Horseman’ season 5 review By Christopher Atkinson Writer
I
still remember the first advertising campaigns for BoJack Horseman. The show looked ostensibly like already existing adult animated shows such as South Park or Family Guy. A group of terrible, offensive people do terrible, offensive things, learning nothing and suffering no consequences (it even hired Aaron Paul to play a stoned couch surfer). Early reviews seemed to support this idea as well, with critics who saw the first few episodes calling it uninspired and dull. The show, howver, had an ace up its sleeve. Halfway through the first season, the show transformed from a comedy about celebrity to one of the most heartfelt and impactful explorations of love, loss, abuse, and depression in recent memory. It was the ultimate fake out, with the show getting rave reviews for its next seasons. But how does the new season compare, especially considering that every new season is called the ‘darkest season yet’. After helping his long-lost sister Hollyhock find the identity of her birth mother, BoJack (Will Arnett) is hard at work acting in the new drama series ‘Philbert’, a parody of edgy cop shows
such as True Detective. Struggling with feelings of paranoia and doubt, due to the set of Philbert looking identical to his apartment and an incredibly busy production schedule, BoJack starts an ill-advised relationship
with his co-star, Gina (Stephanie Beatriz). Meanwhile, BoJack’s former girlfriend and agent-turned-managerturned-producer Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris) is looking to adopt a baby, and BoJack’s former roommate Todd (Aaron Paul, gives yet another
amazing performance) struggling with both his asexual relationship with Yolanda (Natalie Morales) and his new job as head of marketing at the company WhatTimeIsItRightNow. com. Meanwhile, Diane (Alison Brie)
experimenting with the show’s format more, with one episode, ‘INT SUB’, even having a completely different opening sequence to match the episodes off the wall strangeness. The show also continues to tackle current affairs, with the episode ‘BoJack the Feminist’ exploring Hollywood’s strange obsession with forgiving men who break the law, insult groups of people and sexually harass or abuse people on and off set. Unlike previous seasons which have had some less than stellar episodes, this season is fantastic overall. A special mention, however, should be given to the episode ‘Free Churro’. Consisting of an almost 30-minute-long monologue from Arnett, the episode is beautiful and sad in equal measure, showing just how deeply broken BoJack is, and just how much of it can be attributed to his parents. The Photo by Netflix twist at the end, presented as a single line from Arnett turns the works through her divorce with Mr whole episode on its head in the most Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) who amazing way, and is almost impossible begins dating a waitress. to see coming. If I had only one episode The writing in this season is superb, to show to convince someone to spend with all the wordplay, puns and twists time with this show, ‘Free Churro’ that viewers have come to expect would definitely be the episode I would from this show. The writers are even show.
‘Inside No. 9’ review By Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor
I
nside No. 9 is a witty, black comedy TV show that was first broadcasted by the BBC. The series was written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, well known for The League of Gentlemen, and famous for their ability to inhabit multiple roles. Exploring themes such as incest, death, and witchcraft, Inside No. 9 has the ability to convey these themes without being too overdramatic or ridiculous. It’s an anthology series with each episode having an entirely new story and set of characters. The plot twists will also keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Starring famous British actors such as Katherine Parkinson, Denis Lawson and many more, the acting is phenomenal. Each episode,
Photo by BBC
the audience is able to emphasis with each of the characters and explores their
stories in a great depth. One flaw would be that the average
episodes are, indeed, very average. One of the more interesting episodes features a family of vampire-like individuals, who wish to reincarnate the devil into a school girl. On the other hand, there are underwhelming episodes such as one in which a phone calling agency answer distressed individuals calls, yet something strange seems to be going on. Watching an episode such as the latter makes the former bearable and, worth the wait. There are laughs. There are tears. And there are lots of uncomfortable silences. If you enjoy TV shows such as Black Mirror, then Inside No. 9 is most definitely for you. The episodes are only half an hour long, making it an easy watch for all. The first and second series are now available on Netflix.
16
Feature
Is the University of Kent’s five-year plan achieveable?
By Corben Neyland Newspaper Features Editor
‘
By 2020, The University of Kent will have secured its position as a UK top 20 university and be a globally recognised research institution’. That is the first line of the Vision section from the University of Kent’s 2015-2020 plan, which outlines the university’s objectives and their plans to achieve them. In 2015, the University released this plan, which was implemented in order to enhance the research of the university, as well as the priority goal of reaching a prestigious top 20 UK ranking. Last year the University fell in the Complete University Guide rankings by 19 places. The question students are asking is why is the plan not working to its full effect? In 2016, the University was placed 17th in the country for ‘research intensity by the REF (Research Excellence Framework), with 97% of its research judged as being of international quality’. According to the plan, in 2015, ‘Kent ranked among the top 20 in the UK
university league tables, and its performance in the National Student Survey saw Kent achieve the 5th highest score for “overall satisfaction”‘. And ‘6 months after graduation in 2014, less than 6% of undergraduates were without a job or further study opportunity.’ So where has all this progress gone? Students have been vocal about recent events such as the nationwide strikes that occurred last year which may have adversely affected the University of Kent’s rankings. Various suggestions have been made as to why the university had such a drastic fall. Paul Greatrix of the University of
Nottingham claims that the fall was ‘due to an increase in student-staff ratio’. The university’s current student-staff ratio, according to the CUG collection, is 18.4. For each staff member there are 18.4 students. Although that figure would suggest a disparity in the quality of education, the CUG believes that a lower ratio ‘does not guarantee good quality or good access to staff’. The Guardian argues that the ‘ratio of the number of staff to students does not accurately reflect teaching intensity’. If that is the case, then why is the University of Kent not seeing the results of their plan? Kent was not the only university to adjust their student-staff ratio, if other universities are beginning to follow suit, could the student-staff ratio indicate an
actual improvement in the university’s ranking in the long-term? Alex Dearden, a third-year Politics and International Relations student, was asked if the university rankings accurately reflect the education and experience that he has had at Kent. He responded: ‘Not particularly. I think there has been staffing issues with not enough academic staff for the university, but I still believe the work students do and the teaching we receive is of a much higher quality than the rankings give us credit for. ‘I am certain that the reason we’ve fallen is because of the lack of teaching staff, as I have noticed that more and more seminars are taught by PhD students, as opposed to lecturers. Student satisfaction has been reflective of that and I believe that has also brought Kent down in the rankings’. The Politics student believes: ‘It would be tough to get into the top 20 UK universities by 2020, but it’s certainly achievable to jump as many places as we’ve dropped in recent years, but I think it’s more than likely that we won’t be a top 20 university for at least a few years after 2020’. The University of Kent now sits at
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire 44th in the Complete University Guide rankings, 24 places away from the top 20, and with roughly 18 months of the planned timeline remaining, drastic improvements will need to be made if the university is to reach their goal. The plan states 3 key areas where the university will strengthen themselves in order to reach a top 20 standing. The first is Research, the second is Education, and the third is Engagement. In each of these key areas, the plan outlines ‘Performance Indicators and Targets’ that the University will attempt to meet. And the plan also states that ‘within each strategic objective, we have set ambitious, but quantifiable, targets against which we and others can judge our progress’. If, however, these ‘quantifiable’ targets are not being met, then no substantial progress can be seen in the national rankings. The only viable conclusion must be to make formidable changes to the plan, in order to adapt to the issues that Kent is now facing, to rescue the national rankings to benefit the university’s long-term plan, and to reach the all-important outcome of a top 20 ranking by 2020. The question that many students find themselves asking now, is where will the plan go from here? And what needs to be done in order for the university to
rise up the rankings? Unfortunately, the recently released Good University Guide 2019 by The Times and The Sunday Times has seen Kent plummet a further 24 places in comparison to last year. The Times now places the University of Kent outside of the top 50 in their rankings. The 2019 Complete University Guide Ranking of 44th for the University of Kent was the lowest ranking in over a decade, and with The Times university ranking placing Kent outside the top 50, this must be a huge concern not only for the institution, but for students and faculty that work so hard to maintain the reputation of this university. The graduate prospects of the university still remain high. In the Complete University Guide the university was rated 82.4 out of 100 in terms of graduate prospects, which is indeed higher than some universities that sit above Kent in the rankings. If graduate prospects remain high, then what could be holding Kent back from achieving its top 20 status? Though there are many factors that contribute to the national rankings, the five-year plan does not seem to be going according to plan. Universities will typically rise and fall in rankings every year, but, students at the University of Kent will be concerned at the level at which Kent’s rankings are
seemingly sliding away. The University of Kent issued a comment on the recent Good University Guide ranking, stating: ‘The latest Sunday Times Good University Guide saw a reversal in the University’s rise in the league table with a fall of 24 places to rank 55th. Despite this, the quality of our teaching remains among the best in the UK and the Guide praised the contribution of the colleges in the award to the University of a gold rating in the government’s recent Teaching Excellence Framework. In addition, the Guide praised the University’s Student Success Project, describing it as ‘outstanding’. Our ranking has been affected by a low score in student satisfaction which was based on data from the National Student Survey (NSS). Kent’s performance in the two new NSS themes of student voice and learning community was not as good as we would have wanted and, as a result, we have introduced a number of initiatives to address them in conjunction with Kent Union.
17
These include the establishment of a group to ensure student feedback is being used to inform change, an initiative to provide free student membership to relevant academic societies and further improvements to the existing student course representative programme. The fall in ranking was also the result of the recent alignment of our staffing load calculations to ensure parity between all staff groups. This change in the calculations did not impact on the delivery of our teaching either in terms of the number of contact hours delivered or class sizes.’ Eventually, amendments will need to be made to the five-year plan, and hopefully, these amendments will result in a return to the rankings where the University of Kent deserves to be.
18
Entertainment
Music
Noname debut album ‘Room 25’ By Rachel Marsh Writer
R
oom 25 is the debut album of Chicago rapper Noname, a followup to her acclaimed debut mixtape Telefone which was released in 2016. Whilst this is no Frank Ocean type of wait, the two years between that and Room 25 are significant. Unlike many other artists who are serially releasing albums and mixtapes, Noname is a patient exception, describing to Fader how she “incubate[s] for a long-ass time” to create the music she desires. And we are all the luckier for it. Room 25 is a lyrical masterpiece, with agile word-play and a pace so smooth that you could almost be rocked into heaven whilst listening. Much like Telefone, the album mixes a delicate jazz sound with contemporary rap beats that creates for the listener a shared sense of joy with Noname, that is inescapably bound to moments of melancholy, creating music that reflects life. In an interview with The Fader, Noname explains how she was able to explore her sexuality in her music as she became aware of it between her two albums, declaring “I say ‘pussy’ like a thousand times on the album. I was just like, OK, now that my pussy is like this character that’s in the book,
how do I colour [that story in]?” This is illustrated in the crescendo of the song ‘Self’ as listeners are introduced to more confident lyrical mastery than
they Photo by The Fader found in Telefone, as Noname confidently quips, ‘my pussy teachin’ ninth-grade English/ my pussy wrote a thesis on colonialism’ in the
opening song ‘Self.’ Through expressing her sexuality in such a way, Noname allows herself to explore the power that her ‘pussy’, i.e. her sexuality, has. Moreover, both the title and the content of the song set out what Noname hopes for in her music: a uniqueness that doesn’t need to be compared to artists such as Lauryn Hill to still be successful. Undoubtedly, she achieves this. Moreover, Noname manages to explore her identity as a black woman in 2018 through the song ‘Blaxploitation’, a song which gets its name from the film genre, popular in the 1970s, that focused stories based on racial stereotypes. The name itself is a portmanteau of ‘black’ and ‘exploitation’, an issue which Noname explores as a contemporary evil in the United States. The line ‘maybe I’m an insomni-black / Bad sleep triggered by bad government’ gives the listener an insight to the
turmoil that she faces due to the broken politics of America. The production of this track, a constant heavy mix of funky bass and drums that harkens back to the titular film genre exacerbates this political overtone. In the hands of a lesser talented artist this track could come across as preachy, but Noname isn’t attempting to claim any political superiority. Instead, the album gives way to a credibly truthful, yet emotional, exploration of life. In ‘Don’t Forget About Me’, a gentle exploration of Noname’s own anxieties about her life, she raps ‘All I am is everything and nothing at all… / All I am is love, all I am is love.’ Noname’s reliance upon loving, and being loved in return, is what defines her. The existential fear of losing this is intimately relatable and the efforts to which Noname grapples with the subject to no conclusion offers us affirmation – that we, her listeners, are not alone. Room 25 offers no concrete comfort, instead reconciling itself and its listeners with a classic conclusion that many of us find in our twenties; that loneliness is okay, and joy can still be found. Noname offers this conclusion in a cohesive, melodic, and emotional eleven-track album that everybody should be listening to.
‘Dirty Computer’ by Monáe T
By Georgia Dack Writer
hroughout her discography Monáe looked to the future to understand the present, carving smart high-concept albums by balancing themes of identity and alienation with science-fiction narratives. She metaphorically explored being a woman, black, and queer in an oppressive society by taking on an android alter-ego. In ‘Dirty Computer’, this aspect falls to the background as a thematic overtone, as she steps beyond the alter-ego, and draws more from the lyrical frankness heard in some of the rap sections on previous tracks. The music is vastly more personal, and the narrative instead takes audio-visual shape in her accompanying ‘Emotion Picture’ film of the same name. Monáe’s music has always been innovative, her previous records blending R&B, neo-soul and disco with funk and psychedelic rock, with an eccentric, and vivid result. ‘Dirty Computer’ is not a departure from this era, but certainly maturation, unique as ever but moving into pop
territory. Monáe takes to singing in a lower register throughout, tries on
ornamentations and funk rhythm guitars from the outset, which evolves into a sensual trap beats section with a powerful rap epilogue. Thematically, Monáe balances expressions of sexuality with social commentary on political corruption. This seamlessly transitions into Monáe’s fierce rap song ‘Django Jane’. In this lead single, showcasing her lyrical prowess, each verse is wittily put together, simultaneously personal, and broadly political. Not to mention the sumptuous musical arrangement, that weaves around and works with the vocals to bring weight to the right moments. Photo by Clash Some of the best tracks are a soul ballad in ‘Don’t Judge Me’, different from anything she’s produced embraces bold synths in ‘Take a Byte’. before. ‘Pynk’ which features Grimes, Over 14 songs, and with collaborators takes form as a bubble-gum pop song ranging from Brian Wilson to Grimes but celebrates the female body. In ‘Make to Pharrell, she jumps between genres Me Feel’ Monáe playfully tiptoes around whilst remaining sonically cohesive. articulating feelings for someone, ‘Screwed’ mixes colourful pop until the pre-chorus storms in with
powerhouse guitars, and a rhythmic chorus. The instrumental texture is dynamic, used sparingly but cleverly, and like many others on the album, bears the presence and theatricality of Prince. With her vision more refined and her songs more outspoken, ‘Dirty Computer’ clearly taps into the anxiety of the times. The album ends with ‘Americans’, a sardonic, upbeat take on Trump’s guntoting conservative America, satirising racists, sexists and homophobes alike. Ushered in with an electric gospel intro, the final note of the album is a jubilant reassurance to all outsiders that they aren’t alone. More self-assured than ever, in ‘Dirty Computer’ Janelle Monáe embraces her identity with an honesty and freedom not previously touched on, and it’s a joy to listen to. She pitches her content between the personal and the political, entwining both in the cleverness of her lyrics, and preaching self-love, empowerment and change against odds.
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
Entertainment
Games Is Fortnite a relationship wrecker?
20
By Emmanuel Omodeinde Newspaper Entertainment Editor
F
ortnite is currently all over the news as it’s become one of the most popular games ever played. It has far surpassed the popularity of Overwatch, the big multiplayer game in 2016 and has almost doubled Minecraft in monthly users in less than a year beating Minecraft’s 74 million with its 125 million. It is an online third-person shooter game with a variety of different game modes with the most popular being the battle royale mode, a freeto-play battle royale game where up to 100 players fight in increasingly smaller spaces to be the last person standing. Its popularity coincides with the popularity of competitive gaming or eSports and the video streaming platform Twitch in the last five years which has made players and streamers celebrities. he most popular streamer on the platform is Richard Tyler Blevins, who goes by his online alias Ninja, with over eleven million followers and an
T
average of over 43,000 viewers per stream. Video-games has been blamed for many things in the three decades they have become a part of popular culture and entertainment. They’ve been blamed for isolation, alienation, anger issues, mental health issues, misogyny, violence, mass shootings etc. There has been no evidence that video-games have more of an effect on a person’s capability for violence or any of the aforementioned issues than any other medium can. Yet again there has been another study claiming that Fortnite has become addictive. According to research by online divorce website, http://www.divorce-online. co.uk/, it is affecting marriages and relationships. The company has received data that there have been ‘200 divorce petitions since January 1st where addiction to Fortnite and other online gaming has been cited as one Photo by Flickr of the reasons for divorce.’
01227 450 450 CHEAP RELIABLE
TAXI
DOWNLOAD OUR APP ‘ONTIME TAXIS’
BOOK - TRACK - PAY
booking@ontimecar.co.uk ontimecar.co.uk
Puzzles
For our next edition, our puzzle creator will be back and the puzzle section will again be upand-running.
3
7
1 6 2
5 4
7 1 9 1 2 9 3 3 6 8
4 6
1
2 8 9 1
4
Across 1.Things that have already happened (4) 3. A source of intense repugnance or fear (6) 8. A metallic element, atomic number 45 (7) 9. A coop for small animals, especially rabbits (5) 10. In Greek mythology, the Titan who held up the heavens on his shoulders (5) 11. A person who advocates greater freedom in political institutions (7) 12. A mark at the end of a sentence, a full stop (6) 14. A city in southern England to the northwest of London (6) 17. A deadlock, stalemate (7)
2
4
7
19. Informally, gramophone records collectively (5) 21. A strong cloth of twilled cotton (5) 22. A stain, defect or flaw (7) 23. Hilary ___, British writer whose books include Wolf Hall (2009) (6) 24. A white and salty Greek cheese (4) Down 1. The capital and largest city of Haiti (4-2-6) 2. A cylinder or reel on which yarn, etc. is wound (5) 3. Kate ___, English television presenter and president of the RSPB from 2009 to 2013 (6) 4. A 2006 UK Top 10 single for Amy
3
4
5
6
7 9
8
10
4
Winehouse (5) 5. A prosperous and industralised province in central Canada (7) 6. A disastrous or embarrassing failure (6) 7. 1993 drama film starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington (12) 13. A duplicate, especially one by the original artist (7) 15. Professor ___, a fictional character and leader of the X-Men; co-created by Stan Lee (6) 16. A small desert-dwelling rodent often kept as a pet (6) 18. A small carnivorous mammal of the weasel family (5) 20. Sound of any kind (5) Groundless
Betting stake
Camp shelter
Greyish
Rave
Fun & games Going to all your lectures and seminars can really take its toll, so take some time to relax, but keep your brain ticking over at the same time with these quick puzzles!
Arrowword 1/10
Border
After
Keen on
Acquire
Monkey Rubbish
13
14
Tree
15 Plan
16 17
18
19
21
22
23
Acting part
Old Russian emperor
Happy
20 Sorry!
24
Noise
Great fuss
Violin relative
Juicy fruit
Concept
Devise
11
12
5 9 3 5
Puzzles by Matthew Sapsed
Crossword
1
4
5 3 7 2 8 3 4 2 7 9 6 1
5 7 6
2
Sudoku Hard
Unfortunately, InQuire was unable to obtain the answers to the last edition’s crossward.
Entertainment
Sudoku Easy
Last Issues’s Crossword Answers
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
Uproar
Lounge (about)
Fortune teller
Daybreak
Sluggish
22
Culture
Jimmy Cauty: The Aftermath Dislocation Principle
Arts
By Shani Thomas Website Culture Editor
MA Curating launched the opening of one of ADP Riot Tours on the 9th September 2018
I
f you take the time to travel around the various portals punctured into the metal casing that walls the Aftermath Dislocation Principle (ADP), you’ll explore the striking attention to detail with which Jimmy Cauty has created his miniature masterpiece. Optimising model railways techniques in materials he has managed to create what was originally three separate works including: ADP1—‘Old Bedford’, ADP2—‘New Bedford Rising’ and ADP3 ‘The Bridge.’ The first work, now known simply as ADP is the only existing piece of the collection left, because the latter two had to be destroyed as it proved to be impractical to manoeuvre such excessive amounts of work. The president of the L-13 addressed the issue, stating: ‘already having to send one 40ft container around the country was difficult enough, and so having to send three was going to be impossible’. They agreed that they ‘should never have made the others’. Therefore, the additional pieces are currently in Cauty’s workshop waiting to be recycled as raw materials for his next great idea. Cauty recalls that the moment he imported 3,000 small-scale figures from Germany, he would eventually make up the many pockets of police personnel. Seeming like a tedious endeavour at the time, he admitted: ‘I used to say that I hated all of it, which was my stock answer, only because it took so long to make’. In order to create police constables that were not only dormant, lifelessly standing figures without any potential movement, Cauty worked especially hard so that his figures could look as realistic as possible. He explains that they had to ‘cut off the [police constables] heads, and put them onto the bodies of other little workers who were able to move’, and then they finished up by simply ‘painting the police uniforms on to them’. This technique was aided by the help of
Cauty’s five art assistants. He bleakly recounts the tiresome effort executed by one of his workers and said: ‘It was one person who did that, Sophie,
Photo by Shani Thomas
it took her nine months, and she just did that for nine months. Steve Lowe was the only one who would employ her after that, she’s alright now, but all of us went a little crazy because once you go outside everything looks really big again’. After operating at a scale of 1:87 and at a size of 40 feet, Cauty promises that his next project will not be anywhere near as large. Lowe and Cauty explain that the container itself caused a lot of issues in terms of travel. It was rather suspicious looking due to the scrawls it had accumulated by random members of the public after being left unattended in certain areas. Lowe suggested: ‘they were always going to be worried if there was any bureaucratic message involved, because it’s got this promise of sedition if it is graffiti’. One of these prudish city councils was Penzance in Cornwall, a town which feared that the ADP might ‘send out the wrong message’. The Riot Tour’s initial excursion across the country and back, in 2017, stopped at thirty-six sites of historical riots, including Stonehenge’s Battle of Beanfield. Thus, it was not the only destination of the ADP’s official Riot Tour that had commanded a
discrepancy with social austerity. Cauty postulates this relationship with austerity as the main reasoning behind his last minute decision to exclude all civilians from his disaster landscape. He instead chose to replace them with police personnel, explaining that he ‘thought it was more interesting to just have the police standing around looking bored and doing their own crimes’. Lowe interrupts him to say: ‘If they’ve got nobody to cause trouble, they’ve got to start causing trouble themselves so you’ve got something to do’. There are many scenes on Cauty’s model estate that show law enforcing figures perform their duties in a dubious manner. One of the more explicitly questionable scenes, showcases a policeman using a spray can to deface the abandoned crime scene, by painting obscene language onto it’. Lowe admits that there is an intentional “element of provocation” embedded within the work, however, Cauty also says that ‘we’re not about creating controversy, we just wanted to show the world you know’. But when asked to choose his favourite part of the model, Lowe chose to praise the outer part of the artwork. This is rather than having to stack 23, wide crates into multiple lorries, the shipping container proved to be an efficient resource for when they wanted to transport materials nationwide. Lowe explains this ironic sentiment by saying that ‘during the main tour, a big part of it became the whole moving from one community to the other. It was the way spraying the graffiti was able to gather up its own kind of momentum and create its own history that was separate from anything that Jimmy did, but was still able to generate a new meaning’. He implies that as the meaning travels around, it becomes less about everybody spending ages looking around and having their favourite parts, but rather the whole story, where it had been and where it was going. The originally clean
grey shipping container marked solely with Cauty’s logo, dramatically changed after it arrived in Exeter, as Lowe fondly explained that ‘after that, it just went mental’. The many noble vandals who seized the opportunity to leave a finite viewing on this blank canvas of a container are who we have to thank for the colourful display we have currently sitting behind the Templeman library. Together, Lowe and Cauty joke that: ‘we’d never give commission to do that because it has to be proper vandalism. We did have some artists approach us and say ‘can I do a mural on it?’ and we said no, because you’ve got to take your risks like everybody else and if we see you we’ll call the police’. The ADP will be located between the Gulbenkian and the Templeman library until the 28th September, and will be one of the many exhibitions held by the MA Curating students as a part of their Beyond the Barricade project that will come to an end on 30th October. Their project aims to assemble a myriad of different artworks, all joined by their themes of revolution, symbols of resistance, and a brash abandoning of the old. They will be running an additional gathering in the style of a ‘French salon room’, which will offer the opportunity to explore established forms of art and literature, as well as a free discussion relating to their project.
Photo by Shani Thomas
Friday 29 September 201723
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Culture
By Maryah Chughtai Newspaper Culture Editor
‘Tutus and testosterone as The Trocks return’
D
ance Consortium presents ‘Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo’, a play that was initially established in New York, but has now become a worldwide phenomenonal hit. The cast of ballet dancers, commonly abbreviated to ‘The Trocks’ has been taking the stage for nearly over 40 years and have been delighting their audiences with their unbelievably synchronised dance routines and charmingly, humorous personalities. Audiences of all ages can appreciate and attend this show. This incredible all-male cast show off their ability to transform into two personas, one male and one female. They put on their own sassy spoofs and homages to classical ballet dance routines, all whilst still coming across as relatable, down-toearth performers. They parody the
Photo by Secretaría de Cultura | Flickr
conventions of romantic ballet, as their poses, posture and physical comedic pieces all intend to show off each of their performers’ technical skills and abilities. If you and your housemates are up for a laugh or just want to head on over to the Marlowe theatre within the next few weeks, then be sure to check out this outstanding show that will undoubtedly keep you entertained. The show will be held on the 19th and 20th October 2018, and will start at 7:30pm on both days. Tickets do vary in prices, but range from £10.75-£32.25 Be sure to check out https:// marlowetheatre.com/shows/les-balletstrockadero-de-monte-carlo/ for more information regarding the show and other similar shows that may also be of interest.
The Marlowe theatre presents:
Avenue Q A
fter spending a week in the lively city New York, there was no questioning the decision to go a see a live show. It was a toss-up between Chicago (a classic), or an unheard-of show, called Avenue Q. We took a stab in the dark and decided to go down the avenue route, and it did not disappoint. Lucky enough for us, the creators behind such comedic gold performances will be showing their production at the Marlowe early next year. It is created by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez and they guarantee a fun-filled, mischievous, and massively entertaining show. The timeless musical tells the story of a recent graduate called Princeton, who has just moved to the shabbier side of New York City and is living in a small apartment on Avenue Q. It is his first time being exposed to the real world outside of his bubble and there is an immediate sense that he has absolutely no idea as to what he will do now. Relatable right? The
new town and people come as a shock to Princeton, however, he quickly begins to realise that there is more to his neighbours than what he might have initially thought. Throughout his journey of self-exploration and coming to terms with balancing his ideal world and realistic world, he meets a wide range of friends—there is an adorable girl, a Japanese fiancé, a porn obsessed monster, Gary Coleman, and many more. It is both an autobiographical and biographical coming-of-age parable, which cleverly addresses interesting and current topics that many people often find taboo. The characters face adult-life situations, representing the anxieties and issues attached to the transition period between a child and adult. Nonetheless, they ironically are acted through puppets—yes, puppets—and visually resemble the characters in the classic childhood series, Sesame Street. Together, Princeton and his new group
By Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor of friends help each other navigate their way through young adult life. Their struggles of finding jobs, getting dates, and re-finding their identities in the real world, provide some major laughingcrying moments and even bring back old memories, awkward encounters and experiences that we can all relate to. Incredibly funny and entertaining performance which is filled with plenty of catchy scores and a cast that you cannot help but fall in love with. Although the show does address certain adult content that a few people may feel uncomfortable with, it resembles a childhood show and simply teaches that it is not on the outside,
but what is on the inside that counts most. For more details head over to https:// marlowetheatre.com/shows/avenue-q/ for more information regarding dates, times, prices and performance durations.
Photo by Wikimedia Commons
Culture
By Emmanuel Omodeinde Newspaper Entertainment Editor
Baldwin’s soulful novel which tells the story of love defying injustice
James Baldwin’s ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’
24
J
ames Baldwin is widely recognised as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He was a writer of essays, short stories, novels and even a children’s book but is most commonly known for his articulate social commentary on race relations in the United States. Some of his most famous debates were filmed, perhaps the most famous being the 1965 debate with Conservative political commentator, William F. Buckley, at the University of Cambridge. Although Baldwin was famous and well known during his lifetime as an active figure in the civil rights movement, his importance and role in the movement has not received the same attention as other figures. Baldwin, a gay black man in 20th century America, felt disillusioned and left the states for France at the age of 24 where he lived for the majority of his life until his death. If Beale Street Could Talk was until very recently one of Baldwin’s lesser known works. Following on from the 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro, based on Baldwin’s manuscript of the same name, it was announced that Barry Jenkins (director of the Oscar-winning film Moonlight) would direct an adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk to be released in 2018. Published in 1974, If Beale Street Could Talk was the second to last novel Baldwin finished, although he would remain active until 1985 a couple of years before his death in 1987. Its title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song ‘Beale Street Blues’. It follows the relationship between nineteen-year-old Clementine, whose nickname is Tish and twenty-two-year-old, Alonzo Fonny, who is imprisoned after he is falsely accused of raping a Puerto Rican woman, Victoria Rogers. The novel is rooted in the legacy of black men being accused by white women of rape, which began during slavery when white women would punish their black male slaves by having them beaten and emasculated by their slaveowner husbands. This terrible legacy has endured well into the present day with stereotypes of black men as more aggressive, masculine, hypersexual, and threatening to white women (and men). The most famous case in history is the case of Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old African-American boy who was lynched after being falsely accused of whistling at a white woman. In 2017, Carolyn Bryant, the woman who made the accusation disclosed that she had fabricated the most sensational part of her testimony. If Beale Street Could Talk is political but it does not deal explicitly with politics. Instead, Baldwin focuses on the lives of two African-American families dealing with the unjust institutionally racist criminal justice system. The dialogue is vulgar, blunt, and sharply written in AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) and the writing is straight-forward and effectively heartbreaking. The novel is at its best when it is focusing on the conversations between the two families and between Tish and Fonny. But, as the chase for Victoria Rogers ensues, it begins to mirror a detective genre fiction form. It is a vital and essential read and unfortunately a brutally honest and sobering depiction of institutional racism in the criminal justice system against African-Americans in the United States.
Book review:
‘Lolita’
L
Books By Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor
olita can be considered in one of two ways. The alliterative language simply emphasises The story of a man who has experienced Humbert’s admiration for Lolita, and can great loss, becoming spellbound by the love even suggest that because he has internalised of his life, and doing all he can to win her this obsessive behaviour towards her, it is now affection; or, it can be seen as a more brutal affecting him as a character. exploration of the unconventional and taboo On the other hand, regardless of Nabokov’s relationship between an older man and a poetic language and powerful imagery, should young girl. As a novel with international there be this much praise and dedication recognition, the meanings, underlying towards a novel based on a paedophilic messages, and character traits are all bound to relationship? It can be argued that just get warped. It is especially because the style and format of important to the novel is so cleverly understand handled and the readers that as newer effectively are able generations to develop a good get their hands understanding of on this book, the characters, that it will re-spark the crude nature of the conversations and novel is somehow overlooked ideas that previous generations in all its faults and misleading messages. may have agreed with or even overlooked at Any rational and moral minded person would certain times. know that Humbert is a psychotic individual It is a 1955 novel written by Vladimir and one who should be sympathised with only Nabokov that quickly attained classic status. because of his illness and not his relationship The relatively unreliable protagonist and dilemma. narrator who goes under the pseudonym, This approach to the novel and Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert, is a middle-aged careful depiction of his characters could be Literature professor. He becomes obsessed the reason the book was so well-received and sexually involved with a twelve-year-old as opposed to other paedophilic narratives. girl, Dolores Haze, whom he becomes a stepUnlike other fictional paedophilic characters father to. He starts a diary and secretly refers that are concluded as the villains, this novel’s to Dolores as ‘Lolita’. Audiences and storyline and structure embarks on a quest readers are able to get a distorted to earn as much sympathy for its and relatively uncomfortable protagonist. It can be suggested insight into his fantasies that the very reason it is so about Lolita, while successful is because the understanding the many author steps out of the others factors and past box and chooses to experiences in his life, challenge the depths of that have contributed society, his readers and toward his unusual our shared values and love interest. often fixated mindThe description sets. of the protagonist’s I did not argue past, and his with the thoughts current feelings and engagements of towards Lolita, are so this male character, I brilliantly put through did often feel surges of towards its readers, is sympathy for Humbert Photo by Emmanuel Polanco | Flickr why the title has found and his crazed thoughts. such acclaim. This is due to the fact that Nabokov describes the throughout the novel, there protagonist’s muse, Lolita, were moments I would often forget through Humbert’s emotions and the nature of their relationship and the passionate feelings towards her. It is age difference between the two of them. It transcribed in a way that the audience is also is very easy to get caught up in the words able to come to terms with his feelings and and somehow find moments where you may consequently sympathise with his struggles, overlook alarming signals, because you just even when they are unconventional and wanted to appreciate the two individuals and inappropriate within our cultural norms and their deep connection with each other. values. The questioning of the moralistic views and The lines such as ‘Lolita, light of my life, ideologies is the most interesting aspect of fire of my loins’, somehow create such an this novel. aura around her character, that just as the If you are looking for a book that will keep you protagonist’s muse, she essentially transitions thinking about it for days after, then I would into being the main focus within the novel. highly recommend ‘Lolita’.
‘Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins’.
Friday 29 September 201725
Motivational books every student should read
Culture
By Maryah Chughtai Newspaper Culture Editor
T
here is a common idea amongst returning students and freshers that the first few weeks at university are far more relaxed than the middle and end of the year. Nonetheless, year in and year out, people are still failing to realise how fast lecture slides and lectures can go from your welcome week slides, to your up and coming essay deadlines. The jump between the slides can cause increased levels of tension and panic and the hard-hitting fact that you came to university to leave with a degree suddenly sinks in. The days of endless lazing around quickly catch up to us all, and we realise that we have only explored the insides of Venue since coming back to Kent. Here at InQuire, we have listed a few inspirational books that we think can help you get on track right away. It is to help you squash those ‘I can’t’ moments, push through the endless procrastination that we have all fallen victim to every now and again, or to simply give you that motivational boost that you need when stepping out on your own for the first time. Fight Club: Everyone has heard of it, most have watched it, but we all need to read it. It is a classic hit and one which has put Chuck PalahniukIt’s name on the wall. A novel that heavily revolves around the political relationships between middle-class disaffected males. The underground secret society and the theme of fighting stands as a metaphor for the male characters constantly trying to reassert their
are going through their first big, life changes, they are completely exposed to meeting newly wonderful and weird people.
Life of Pi: Another novel that has been turned into a massive blockbuster, Yann Martel’s novel focuses on the strength and determination of one man’s mind. The beautiful descriptions and picturesque settings of the novel should not stray its reader from the fact that the protagonist is someone who people from all different backgrounds can relate to. Somehow the idea of stripping someone down to their most vulnerable selves, allows them to express their rawest emotions and the extreme depths of their mind. It is psychologically inspiring and a novel Photo by Nick Youngson | Picserver which shows people that anything is possible if you male identities and make a name for themselves put your mind to it. The relationship between Pi within their dehumanising jobs. Unlike the other and the large Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, takes its recommended books, it has made it to this list readers on a journey, where they explore the depths of because of its iconic artistic images and underlying their love, friendship and trust for one another. philosophical sadness, that so cleverly runs throughout the novel. Americanah: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book teaches its readers to learn from their surroundings, Getting to Yes with yourself and other worthy the mistakes people make around them and how they opponents: William Ury’s novel is one which is selfcan use their social settings to their own personal explanatory in the title. It is based off of the idea that advantages. Although it is written in a different ‘as soon as we are able to come to an agreement within context, it is extremely thought provoking, because ourselves, we will sooner be able to reach agreements it forces people to explore themes of structural with other people’. He encourages his readers with inequality, gender roles and norms, oppression the idea of ‘self-love’ and not being afraid of exploring and discrimination against people from specific your own personalities. Thus, as university students backgrounds.
26
Classifieds
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
27
Classifieds
InQuire For students, by students
Want to write for us? Email: editor@inquiremedia.co.uk Meetings Mondays at 6.15pm, Student Media Centre, above The Venue
28
Science and Technology
Biohacking scientist sells frog genetic engineering kit by Emma Leach Science & Technology Editor
D
r Josiah Zayner is not averse to rocking the boat. The self-described biohacker and ‘mad pirate king of biotech’ has an impressive rap sheet of doing science differently. Zayner got into trouble with the FDA after his company sold kits that allowed customers to brew their own glow-inthe-dark beer with genetically modified fluorescent yeast. He sterilised his entire body and carried out a faecal transplant on himself, using pills made from the faeces of a friend in order to replace his entire microbiome. Experimenting on oneself is not a new concept to the sciences. Professor Barry James Marshall won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on peptic ulcers, part of his investigations involving drinking a broth containing the bacteria that he hypothesised caused them. One of the differences between Professor Barry James Marshall and Dr Josiah Zayner is that the former operates within the scientific system and publishes his findings in
scientific journals, whereas someday be used in the future could accomplish. the latter works out of his to terraform Mars. He left Having Professor George kitchen and eschews traditional NASA after two years, citing Church involved as a business published scientific literature. not being able to deal with how and science advisor may give Critics of Josiah may consider everything was run, and the The Odin some credibility. him a scientific anarchist, suspicion that they also did not Church is a pioneer in the his supporters applaud his know how to deal with him. realms of synthetic biology desire to bring science to It was on leaving NASA that and personal genomics, and the masses. Even within the Josiah started up his company is not afraid to shy away from biohacker community he is a The Odin, which sells supplies big ideas. In 2015 his research divisive figure. Some celebrate and genetic engineering kits, team at Harvard used CRISPRhis endeavours, others are many of which use CRISPRCas9 to insert DNA from frozen concerned that his sometimesCas9, for anyone to use within woolly mammoth samples into cavalier attitude shines a the comfort of their own home. the genome of an elephant. negative light on the The most recent entire community. What addition to the kits What is CRISPR-Cas9? many agree on is that offered by the Odin is a CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool he raises important frog genetic engineering adapted from bacterial repair systems. questions about the kit, at a price of $399.99. It uses the Cas9 enzyme to cut targeted accessibility of science, The kit description locations in the DNA of the target organism. and how results are describes it as a teaching Once the DNA has been cut, the cell disseminated. tool containing all of recognises the DNA damage and goes to For a man notorious the frogs, materials, and repair the cut, scientists can manipulate the for not playing by the instructions required DNA repair machinery in order to introduce rules, Josiah had a to genetically modify desired changes to the genome at the fairly typical start to his the frogs within a home location targeted by Cas9. scientific career. He has a environment. The Masters in Molecular and process involves carrying Cellular Biology from the out experiments to treat Appalachian State University, The kits have caused the frogs with a growth factor and a PhD in Biochemistry and controversy, raising questions that Molecular Biophysics from as to whether powerful genetic increases the the University of Chicago. To engineering tools should be production top it off, he was invited to accessible by anyone. While of growth become a Research Fellow for most people want to do fun and hormones. NASA, to work within their harmless things with it, there Simply put, synthetic biology programme to are concerns as to what those treated frogs bioengineer bacteria that may with less honest intentions should weigh
more than untreated frogs. This is the first product offered by Odin which involves the use of live animals, which of course raises many ethical and legal questions. From a welfare stand point, as it stands in the USA, the Animal Welfare Act exempts amphibians, as they are cold blooded. The legal grey area comes into play with animals with altered DNA, not to mention whether it should be permitted from an ethical standpoint. For now, the engineering kits remain listed on the website, though they are not expected to begin shipping until October. For now, maverick home laboratory science remains a possibility.
Octopuses trip on MDMA like humans by Emma Leach Science & Technology Editor
I
t would be very difficult to design a creature that is more wonderfully bizarre than the octopus. The biology of this underwater denizen is so bizarre that one could be forgiven for believing that it may have arrived from another planet entirely. They have three hearts, one for pumping blood around the body, the other two for pumping blood through the gills. They have more neurons along their arms than they do in their heads, allowing each arm to operate independently, to the extent that they respond to stimuli even after being severed from the body. They can change their skin pattern to camouflage with their surroundings, and can eject an irritant ink when threatened by predators. Reproduction is an all around grisly affair,
involving death for the male and cellular suicide for the female. They even have blue blood, as it is copper bound rather than iron bound; copper is a more efficient oxygen transporter in low temperature. One of the most baffling aspects of octopuses is their ability to use tools and solve puzzles despite their brain structure not resembling one that would be expected to be able to produce such advanced abilities. The cerebral cortex found in humans is associated with these higher level skills. No such structure exists in octopuses, however they are the most behaviourally advanced invertebrates. Knowing this about octopuses, it would be reasonable to assume that their lives are very different to our own. However, two academics from John Hopkins University and the University of Chicago have found a surprising similarity. Eric Edsinger and Gül
Dölen sequenced the genome of the California two-spot octopus, and found that despite being separated by 500 million years of evolution, the serotonin transporter binding site of MDMA is still conserved between humans and octopuses. Meaning that octopuses have the potential to trip on MDMA like humans do. This is of interest in octopuses as they are significantly asocial creatures, and MDMA is a prosocial drug. On a bigger stage, there is interest in more research relating to MDMA as a therapeutic agent for conditions such as anxiety and PTSD due to its ability to reduce social anxiety and inhibition. A behavioural study was carried out on octopuses to find out the effect of MDMA on their interactions with other octopuses. Test subjects were placed in a tank that had three chambers, one for the test subject, one with an action
figure in it, and the other with another octopus in it, but under a pot with holes in it so they could see one another but not cause harm. It was found that the octopuses who had not been treated with MDMA spent the majority of their time in the chamber with the action figure, away from the other octopus. The octopuses treated with MDMA spent significantly more time near the pot containing the other octopus, sometimes touching and ‘hugging’ the container. The prosociality of the octopuses on MDMA certainly support the idea that they are affected by the drug in the same way as humans are, however this is not a definite conclusion. Serotonin is not the only neurotransmitter that MDMA can react with, so further experiments in the
Photo by Masaaki Komori |Unsplash
future will be required to get a clearer picture of the potential mechanisms involved. In the meantime, the octopuses used in the study have been granted a well deserved retirement from their duties after tripping in the name of science. Left to return to their solitary, asocial lives. The findings from the unusual experiment were published in the journal Cell Biology on the 20th of September 2018.
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire 29
What’s on...
Butterflies
The Children Act 28th Sept - 8th Oct 2018
A
Generation Revolution 29th Sept 2018
“I’ve got that funny feeling again… it’s a good thing right?”
Chasing Ice 1st Oct 2018
Three friends embark on an exciting adventure to chase their butterflies away. They cross new seas to uncharted lands, on a journey filled with discovery. The only trouble is they’re all a bit worried about it! During their voyage the group ride the waves, walk high bridges, skirt deep caves and climb to the sky, before reaching dry land braver than ever before. Join our intrepid characters as they step into the unknown in an uplifting
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power 3rd Oct 2018 Yardie 5th -13th Oct 2018 Cold War 6th - 7th Oct 2018
n uplifting tale of friendship and courage.
American Animals 6th - 7th Oct 2018 The Miseducation of Cameron Post 9th Oct 2018 Lucky 11th Oct 2018
Puzzle 14th -19th oct 2018 Trainspotting 16th Oct 2018
Now they are 40ish, at least Photo by The Gulbenkian one of them is in the grips ost Dog’s new show reveals the of a mid-life real story of Romeo and Juliet. It crisis, they feel constantly mocked by turns out they didn’t die in a tragic their teenage selves and haunted by the misunderstanding, they grew up and pressures of being the poster couple
L
The House with a Clock in its Walls 20th Oct 2018 King of Thieves 20th - 26th Oct 2018 Untold Stories: A History of Black People in Kent 22nd oct 2018
Prices Full - £8.50 GulbCard Member - £6.50 Senior - £7.50 Registered Disabled - £7.50 Student - £5.30 Student GulbCard Member - £4.30 Unemployed - £7.50
...there’s nothing for it, but to swim rememebered ley-lines towards the vanished hunting ground where spokes of chill moonlight stir the empty water. From Dissapearnace Of The Great Bear by Steve Xerri, 2017, Poet Of The Year
7.30pm Thursday 4 October Gulbenkian Theatre
Photo by The Gulbenkian
Photo by The Gulbenkian
Showing: Sat 29 Sep, 2:00pm
Juliet & Romeo
lived happily ever after. Well they lived at least.
The Seagull 12th -21st Oct 2018 Reinventing Marvin 13th Oct 2018
tale of friendship, courage and facing your fears, told using innovative staging, breathtaking physicality, touching humour and a specially commissioned musical score. Butterflies is a coproduction between award winning theatre ensemble Tangled Feet and Half Moon, the UK’s leading small-scale theatre company creating work for young people.
for romantic love. They have decided to confront their current struggles by putting on a performance – about themselves. Their therapist told them it was a terrible idea. With Lost Dog’s blend of dance, theatre and comedy this duet takes on our cultural obsession with youth and our inevitable issues with longevity. Showing: Sun 7th Oct, 7:30pm
Sport A deep dive into life with UKC Scuba
30
By Megan Warwick Wesbite Sports Editor
H
ere at UKC Scuba, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive society that gives students an amazing opportunity to try something new and thrilling. Scuba diving is a sport that brings people together, be it from our term time socials, bonding with your dive buddy as you both test the waters for the first time, or from joining us on one of our fantastic diving trips (let’s call them holidays) we organise throughout the year.
- Rowena Bicknell (ex UKC Scuba President, Committee Member for 6 years) Scuba diving is also a great opportunity to push yourself and develop as a person: ‘I had a massive fear of open water, as well as
comfortable environment. It may not happen overnight, but thanks to the support of the society, I have made huge improvements in coping with these fears, and had a bucket load of fun on the way’. - Leon Singleton (UKC Scuba member)
mass of exotic reef life as it ripples with the scurrying of small crustaceans and writhing of eels and octopi. The feeling of discovery
Rating Intensity: 7/10 Comment: A dive can be a tranquil drift through calm lake waters or a hardy workout through ocean currents. Up to you.
Practicality: 5/10 Comment: It’s not the kind of thing you can just do in an afternoon, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it for life.
Time: 5/10
‘A mix of social bonding, Photo by University of Kent Scuba Diving Society selfdevelopment, and adventure. Diving with UKC Scuba is one submechanophobia (the of the greatest experiences fear of man-made objects I’ve had with any society at underwater). Part of the reason university. It’s super fun, y’all I join UKC Scuba is to try and should join’ face these challenges in a more
And how could I not talk about the dives themselves. Swimming around in this new world of unique and stunning plants and animals is an experience that everyone should try. There is very little that compares to the ethereal feeling of floating around among schools of beautiful and vibrant fish, or gliding over the sprawling
as you explore the unfamiliar expanse of the ocean is uniquely blissful. ‘Scuba is the best thing I decided to do at university, great bunch of people with a unique skill which opens up a world you didn’t know existed, I’m proud to be the current president’ - Adam Youseman (current UKC Scuba President)
Comment: A dive is usually not a short commitment. The plus side? Once you’re in, you won’t want it to end.
Fun: 10/10 Comment: One of the best experiences around. You’ll be looking back at these memories with a smile for the rest of your life.
When InQuire met KTV in dodgeball By Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor
T
here was sweat. There was blood. And there were a lot of tears (but that was mostly from InQuire laughing at KTV’s misfortune). KTV and InQuire took to the pitch in a game of indoor dodgeball. Although KTV claims that they ‘won the final match in which winner takes all’, InQuire won two matches out of the three, making us the real winners. It started with a run up to the balls, which InQuire won easily due to the fact that we are never stuck behind a laptop editing the paper and not having time to hit the gym. There were some fierce
hits, involving myself and a few other players getting hit directly in the head. It wasn’t until KTV and InQuire played one another that things got deadly serious. Shouts could be heard from miles away of ‘we get more views!’ and ‘we destroy trees!’ The most violent player was definitely Bill Bowkett (Newspaper News Editor), who swung the balls at the opposing team as though his life depended on it and actually hit one of the opposing players straight in the head. This caused a mega injury and InQuire were forced to feel shame. Man of the match was Jordan Ifield (Website News Editor), who stayed in the
longest for the majority of the rounds and was the last man standing. Most pointless player was, and I hate to say it, myself (Meg Warwick, Website Sports Editor) as I very rarely actually threw a ball and just attempted to hide them from the opposing team. The biggest team player was Alice Elizabeth, was often shared the balls which she collected. The worst player goes to Maisie Lee (Newspaper Opinion Editor) because she kindly nominated herself. And, she did end up getting hit with the ball a fair few times.
Photo by Kent Sport | Facebook
Friday 28 September 2018 InQuire
Angels and Devils
Every week we’re going to look at the angels and devils of the wider sporting world and find who’s been good and who’s been bad in their respective fields. Angel: Wolves—The newlypromoted club have taken the Premier League by storm, playing with a verve and confidence rarely seen in teams that are taking their first steps in top-flight waters. They play attractive football, commit several men forward but also have the ability to scrap and fight for points, as witnessed in last weekend’s draw at Old Trafford. All hail Nuno Esprito Santo’s men. Angel: Lewis Hamilton—The Brit has taken a commanding lead over competitors Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel in the Formula 1 Championship table after last week’s performance at the Singapore Grand Prix. Another Championship would bring him within touching distance of F1 legend and 7 times winner Michael Schumacher. Hamilton really deserves more credit for what he does.
Devil: Mohamed Lahyani— The lesser-known umpire faces a ban for the next two scheduled tennis tournaments after appearing to encourage Nick Kyrgios on court during the US Open. Lahyani told Kyrgios: ‘I want to help you’ and thus adds an interesting layer to the point Serena Williams was making last week following her loss to Naomi Osaka. Devil: Paris Saint-Germain - PSG have all the money in the world, some of the globe’s most high-profile footballers (including Neymar) and are given the courtesy by the rest of the French league of strolling to their domestic title most seasons. How they fail to get their act together in Europe - seen again in their supine defeat at Anfield last week - is a nice reminder that cash can only get you so far in football.
31
Sport
Take a run at the Athletics Society
A
By Megan Warwick Website Sports Editor
thletics is a sport with multiple events. Running, jumping, and throwing at all different distances and levels. Winning, or even participating in a athletics is rewarding, largely because its an individual sport (mostly) and therefore you own 100% of every performance. There is a good social side to athletics, bucs cross country is
with every other university for instance. You generally compete solo in athletics, but the team is close and still fosters a fun community. One of the best sports to keep fit and healthy.
Photo by Kent Sport | Facebook
Rating
Practicality: 10 Intensity: 9 Time: 7
Photo by Kent Sport | Facebook
Fun: 5
Sport www.InQuireLive.co.uk/sport
InQuire
Photo by Kent Sport | Facebook
Photo by Kent Sport | Facebook
UKC Basketball aiming for the top ahead of new season By Kiro Evans Newspaper Sports Editor
T
here was the unmistakable feeling of confidence in the air as I sat down with both the men’s and woman’s UKC basketball teams. Kg Banjoko, President for the women and Kent Union BAME officer, represented the female team while Salim Tanko Ibrahim and Jason Appiah, basketball President, and VicePresident respectively, spoke up for the men’s first team. Both are coming off the back of successful seasons, with Banjoko boasting that the woman’s team was ‘pretty much unstoppable’ in the second half of last year while the men secured the East Kent Cup for the first time since 2011. Banjoko and her team are anticipating ‘getting our grove
back.’ She added, “I’m looking forward to doing events with Kent Union”, before going on to tell me the exciting things they have planned, including a charity match for CoppaFeel!, a breast cancer awareness charity. The boys had more specific and direct plans for this upcoming basketball season. ‘What we’re trying to do is win East Kent again, both cup and the league. Get our first team promoted to division two and get our third team promoted to division three,’ Appiah told me. It was nice reminder of just how ambitious and determined University sports teams could be. Banjoko told me about growing up in Chicago and then moving to Canada, where ‘there is less emphasis on playing basketball and more on soccer’, ‘football’, I sternly, and rudely, interrupted.
Appiah also played abroad, ‘having an off-season with a pro-team in Germany’ over the summer. I inquired as to whether their dedication to sports was merely hobbies or a serious option for the future. Ibrahim, the President, said: ‘I’ve been facing injuries and injuries are something that might bring your career down. Right now I’ve been looking at other options like focusing more on my studies in case the basketball doesn’t go well for me.’ With optimistic and sprightly freshers arriving on campus, I asked both clubs what they looked for in auditioning newbies. ‘Physical abilities obviously, you gotta be fit’ Banjoko tells me, before adding self-depreciatingly, “if you’re a little bit more fit than me that’s good, but if you’re less fit than me you’ve got a bit of problem.”
She continued: ‘Being able to take direction without taking it negatively is important. I want someone excited because if you’re not excited then why are you on the team?’ Ibrahim and Appiah were on a similar wavelength when they said, in response to my question, ‘basic and fundamentals. If you haven’t got simple footwork it doesn’t mean much. We’re also looking for players that have heart. Because there will come a time in a game when we will be down and everyone’s morale will be down and we need that one person to always make sure the team’s morale is up.’ I asked how these two athletes juggled the sport with their degree. Banjoko a three word answer: ‘scheduling, scheduling, scheduling’. Ibrahim, meanwhile, in a response that both
demonstrated the diligence and the easy going nature of the basketball team, told me: ‘Doing it with my studies wasn’t really a problem for me. I used to live right here in Turing, so right from training, I’d go to the shower, sleep 20 minutes, I’m good. It wasn’t even a problem for me.’ The woman’s basketball first game is against Canterbury Christ Church University on 10 Wednesday October, while the men’s basketball’s opening match is versus University College London’s men’s second team on the same day.
Inside on Sports Page 1: An in-depth look into UKC Scuba Diving Society and the dodgeball match between members of Inquire and KTV